Heart of a Soldier
by Wolf of Chains
Summary: Being children of the military doesn't seem that bad but it is for Alexis and Nicholas Cross. Things turn for the worse when they're suddenly tagged traitors and thrown into a race against time to save the world, as well as learning the secrets about the past "Allow me to humor you, the heart of a soldier beats more when there's something worth fighting for."
1. Children of the Military

**A/N:** **Hello everyone and Wolfie is back! I decided to rewrite my _Golden Feathers_ fanfic because I felt like it wasn't going anywhere from where I placed my OCs and yes, there are going to be some changes but some things are going to remain the same. I'm not going to say what but you'll just to have find out in _Heart of a Soldier_! Enjoy~!**

**Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy Series belongs to Square Enix**  
**Claimer: I only own _Heart of a Soldier_ and its OCs**

***Re-edited 5/2/2014**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter I: Children of the Military**

* * *

Day 2

"Come on, you two." Our mom said as she dragged both my twin sister and I out of the two story house. The bright sun blinded my vision as we stepped out.

"Is it really necessary to bring us along?" My twin sister, Alexis, asked. My twin sister wore an elbow-length red shirt with a black sleeveless coat that went little past her knees, black short-shorts with a white belt, and dark brown military boots. As the wind blew, her shoulder blade-length charcoal hair danced about in the draft.

As for me, my navy blue scarf repeatedly wacked me in the face. I wore a white long-sleeve shirt, a buttoned up black vest, navy blue scarf, dark blue jeans with a white belt, black military boots, and black fingerless gloves. My hair is almost the same as Alexis except way shorter and my bangs sweep to the left.

Our mom just sighed as she locked the front door, Alexis and I followed her past the shore side shops of Bodhum "Of course, sweetie." She replied "Besides, I know for a fact that you two would end up bored and sleeping- like always. But now is a good time to figure out which path you want to follow."

I raised an eyebrow, "You mean join PSICOM or Guardian Corps?" Our mom nodded her head and I scoffed "Forget about PSICOM, I'll join Guardian Corps any day. PSICOM is just a place full of brainwashed dogs."

"Nicholas!" Alexis frowned "How can you say that?! Father was part of PSICOM!"

I looked at my twin sister from the corner of my eye, "Who said I was talking about father too?" Alexis was about to say something but she closed her mouth "It's PSICOM in general. If Sanctum orders them to act, they'll do exactly that."

"Nick…" Our mom stopped walking and turned to face me "I understand that you're angry for what happened all those years ago- but that's in the past. Those soldiers who were assigned to that investigation didn't know what they were walking into. Neither did your father. Don't blame the Sanctum or PSICOM because it was neither of their faults." We continued as our mom lectured us some more "Take Derek for example…" I mentally growled "He joined PSICOM to continue your father's legacy as a great soldier and colonel. Look at him now, he's a Lieutenant Colonel."

I just looked towards the crashing waves of the ocean as the tides rolled onto the beach.

* * *

Day 5

I grunted as the blade of my gunblade clashed against Alexis's gunblade, we jumped back to have some distance between us. My twin sister and I were sparring on the beach and for once, our mom allowed us and went to inform the Guardian Corps branch here in Bodhum that we were just sparring- nothing to worry about. Alexis and I agreed to spar in the sand so that it would help us with our footing and balance while fighting.

"Not bad, Nicholas." Alexis told me before charging straight towards me and I scoffed. Once she was close enough to strike me, I sidestepped and swung my gunblade horizontally from my right shoulder but Alexis blocked my attack and fended it off. On instinct, I back flipped away as she swung a full arc. Going back into my fighting pose with my gunblade being held in back-handed fashion, I waited for the next attack. With Alexis not making a move, I placed pressure on my toes before making a swift dash. Closing in, I moved my gunblade in a short arc motion. Reacting quickly, Alexis jumped back but I continued after her while switching my hold on the gunblade.

Alexis stopped and I took my chance to attack while she was open but once I was close enough, she quickly sheathed her gunblade and managed to pin me onto the sand by swiftly sidestepping until she was beside me. My twin sister then took the opportunity to grab my hand that held the gunblade, hit the center of my stomach with her left knee and finally force me onto the sand by grabbing the back of my neck with her right hand.

"Hey!" I said, spitting the sand out of my mouth.

"Another win for me~!" Alexis said in a sing-song voice before helping me back up onto my feet. I dusted the sand from my clothes as my twin sister giggled at the cold glare that I was giving her.

"Busy trying to kill each other?" Alexis and I heard our mom's voice, we looked towards her who was being accompanied by a woman with pink-colored hair. The pinkette wore a white vest over a sleeveless brown turtleneck, a brown skirt, knee-high boots, a black sleeve that reached up to her bicep on her left arm, a red cape that's attached to the left side of her back, a red pouch that's strapped around her left thigh, and a Guardian Corps pauldron that shows her ranking as a sergeant. She was also the same height as mom.

Speaking about height, Alexis stood a few centimeters shorter than the pink-haired woman. While I stand an inch taller.

"Actually, we just finished our spar." I told our mom.

"And I happened to take victory!" Alexis piped with a smirk and I glared at her for rubbing it in "You must be Sergeant Farron," Alexis changed the topic and looked at the pink-haired soldier "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Alexis and this is my twin brother, Nicholas." I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Likewise," Sergeant Farron nodded before we noticed her eyes move to our gunblades "You two are gunblade users?" She asked us.

Alexis and I nodded, "They were given to us on our 16th birthday by our father." I told her "Our older brother taught us how to use them since my sister and I insisted that we learn."

"Anyways, head inside you two," Our mom gestured towards the house "It's almost lunchtime."

Alexis huffed "Mom. Nicholas and I aren't little kids anymore, we're 19!"

"19 or not, you're still my little babies. Now get inside." Alexis and I groaned before doing what we were told.

As we headed inside, our mom and Sergeant Farron started walking away. I looked towards their direction before looking away but apparently Alexis caught me and poked my forehead "See something you like, Nicholas?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You were looking at Sergeant Farron!"

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes you were!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Shut up! I was only looking because she has a gunblade too!"

"Liar! You're totally crushing on her!"

"Will you just shut up!"

* * *

Day 9

Kids laughed and adults conversed as I strolled about the outdoor mall of Bodhum, it's out-of-character for me to go to the mall but I just wanted some fresh air and some ice cream. Maker, I love ice cream! I went to the nearest ice cream parlor and ordered a single scoop of strawberry ice cream on a plain waffle cone. I said my thanks to the employee after paying and made my way out of the parlor to sit down at one of the outside tables.

Even though in the shade, I can still feel the sun's blasted heat but at least its breezy. Seagulls culled from above as I ate my ice cream in peace…well, almost in peace before a girl with light brown came up to me with a deeply flushed face. She wore a purple tanktop, black knee-length shorts, and white sandals "E-excuse me…" She muttered shyly "My fr-friends and I-I were wondering if you were um…s-single?" Casting a glance to my right, I noticed a group of three girls giggling and telling one another to 'shut up and be quiet'.

"I am single actually…" I told the girl and I think I heard her breath hitched at my answer "But I…" It was then that I noticed a familiar pink-haired Guardian Corps sergeant walking in the distance. I'm such a horrible person.

"Would you like to go get a smoothie?" The brunette asked me and I made a sad smile.

"I would love to…but I'm going to have to decline your offer." The girl frowned "You see, I'm just waiting for a friend and- oh! Sergeant Farron!" The pink-haired woman looked at me before walking by. I immediately stood up from my seat "Gotta go. Sorry!" I placed my left hand on the Sergeant's left shoulder and ushered her forward.

"Nicholas, what are you-?"

"Just go along with it for my sake," I muttered and so, she did. Once we were out of their sights, I removed my hand from her shoulder and let out a breath of relief "Sorry about that, just needed to get away." I turned back to the Sergeant to see her with arms folded over her chest "Last minute plan to make a clean getaway."

"To avoid a girl whose asking you out?" She questioned, skeptically "Sounds like you don't have enough backbone to say 'no'."

I opened my mouth to counter that but I didn't "That's true. I had a few girls come up to me but I just make up excuses just to avoid the question."

"Points for the blunt truth." She said and I groaned "You do realize that you're stalling me from finishing my shift?"

I smiled wryly "Sorry, didn't know that you were on duty. But I would call it perfect timing that you came along, otherwise I would've been stuck."

"Is that so?" Sergeant questioned and I nodded "Actually, my shift ended not too long ago. I was just heading back to Guardian Corps." Geez, that wasn't even funny "How about I treat you to ice cream?" She indicated to my melted strawberry ice cream in my hand. Like a small child, I frowned at my frozen treat. I threw it into the nearest trash can.

"Sure, after Guardian Corps.?" I asked.

"You avoided the request of smoothie from the girl but yet, you accepted my offer of ice cream?"

My cheeks and ears grew hot "You got me at 'ice cream'." I cleared my throat and waved my hand dismissively "Anyways, I'll go with you to Guardian Corps. Mom asked me to help her with filing paperwork."

* * *

Day 11

"C'mon Nicholas!" Alexis was practically pulling me towards the area where they were holding Bodhum's annual firework festival "It might be starting any minute now!" The bottom of our boots hit the boarded walkway with a 'thud' as we ran.

"Then maybe you shouldn't take so long choosing an outfit!" I told her "Anyways, we'll make it to the fireworks!" There were times where we nearly tripped while running but we caught our footing and continued running. We skidded to a complete stop once a large dome came into view and from what we can tell, the fireworks haven't gone off yet "Told you!" Alexis sent a glare my way before running off again.

Once we got there, tons of people were gathered behind the shoreline while awaiting for the fireworks "There you two are!" Alexis and I turned heads to see our mom walking towards in her GC uniform "About time you made it, the fireworks are about to start." At that moment, the fireworks were then shot into the air exploded in a variety of different colors. Our mom stood between us and placed both of her hands on mine and Alexis's shoulder.

"Aren't you suppose to be on duty, mom?" Alexis asked and our mom sighed.

"Yes, but we were told to lay off." She said "There are PSICOM soldiers around the area and are investigating fal'Cie activities. Keeping it all under wraps." She told us.

Alexis and I looked at each other "Do you know what kind of activities they're investigating?"

Our mom shook her head "Not a clue. But I suggest keeping your noses out of it for the time being until everything clears up. Understood?" Alexis and I nodded in confirmation "Anyways, enough about PSICOM. Have I told you guys that this is where your father and I met?" Our mom changed the subject.

We looked at her with wide eyes "Seriously?"

She nodded, "Your father had just graduated from the academy and came here as a present to himself. He developed a crush on me and asked me out a few weeks later."

I looked back at the fireworks and continued to admire them, "Hm~ reminds me of someone…" Alexis looked at me directly, I groaned "Right, Nicholas?"

I felt mom's grip tightened on my shoulder and I slowly moved my gaze to her from the fireworks "Is that true, Nicholas?" Mom asked with a raised eyebrow "Who's this person that you have a crush on?" I looked away stubbornly.

"I believe it's Sergeant Farron," Alexis said slyly "He was looking at her when you first introduced us and when you guys were walking away."

"Do my ears hear what is true~?" By this point, our mom has this highly amused smile on her face "Does my little Nicholas really have a crush on Farron?" She asked with a smile "I'll have you know that she's a tough cookie…"

"Can we just shut up about this now?!" I growled, adjusting my scarf so that I can hide my flushed face. Both mom and Alexis began laughing and I huffed "I'm going to get a drink, anybody want one?" Mom and Alexis shook their heads "Suit yourselves." Mom removed her hand from my shoulder before I headed towards the nearest cafe. As I entered, I accidentally bumped into a tall woman "Apologies." I said looking over my shoulder.

The woman's gaze met mine and something at the back of my head started buzzing, the woman looked at me with wide eyes before walking away in a hurry. I can only shrug my shoulders. I ordered a soft drink from the woman behind the counter "Here's your drink." The woman placed my drink on the counter and I nodded my thanks before heading out of the cafe.

I sipped my soda and let out a satisfied breath as the liquid went down my throat. I looked up to the fireworks, each one bursting with beautiful colors. I then looked over towards Alexis and our mom "Everything would be fine if father was still around."

* * *

**A/N: I forgot to say this in the first author's note: the purpose of this rewrite is to see which FFXIII fanfic you guys prefer _Golden Feathers_ or _Heart of a Soldier_. Rewriting the story has been stuck on my mind for a while now because of the way it was written. I'm not saying that I want to get rid of it because I feel like. I'm just saying that I feel like rewriting it- like add more stuff to it, y'know? Like I sometimes (very rarely) say: "Happy readers make a happy author". Now then, hope you guys enjoyed this new story and until the next time I update! See ya~!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	2. Acceptation Without Doubt

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the 2nd chapter of _Heart of a Soldier_! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII and its characters rightfully belongs to Square Enix**  
**Claimer: _Heart of a Soldier_ and its OCs belong to me**

***Re-edited 4/5/2014**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter II: Acceptation Without Doubt**

* * *

"Hey, Nick!" Looking over my shoulder from reading a book- a history book about Pulse to be exact. For some reason, Pulse interests me. Back to Alexis, I noticed her walking out of her work space where she tinkers with machinery. Whenever she got the chance, she would take our gunblades and upgrade them in any way with the components that she would purchase from Lenora's Garage. Alexis handed me my sheathed gunblade.

"What did you do this time?" I asked, placing my gunblade at the end of the couch that I was sitting on before going back to reading. Although before she could tell me, Alexis gave me a look that she wanted me to test out the gunblade. Complying, I placed the book on the coffee table of the living room before grabbing the case and unsheathed my weapon. The gunblade originally had a metallic silver coating as its base color but I decided to customize it with heavy tinted gold and medium grey. On the surface, feathers were itched into the surface.

Looking over to Alexis, I noticed a sparkle in her eyes as she gazed upon her finished work. I change my gunblade into its sword and began swinging it around. It feels as light as a feather…

Like she had read my mind, Alexis smiled "I was able to decrease the weight so that makes it easier to wield during battle- which also adds a bonus to your attack speed. But you know what they say 'There is more to life than simply increasing its speed'."

Sheathing the weapon, I ruffled my twin sister's hair "Thanks." Several knocks came to the front door, Alexis and I looked at each other "Who can that be?"

Walking up to the door, I opened it to reveal a group of three PSICOM Wardens "Nicholas Cross," The one who knocked acknowledged "We're here to bring you to Eden, Lieutenant Colonel's orders."

My brows knitted together, "What for?"

"The Lieutenant Colonel will tell you everything once we arrive at Eden." The PSICOM soldier told me "He has received permission from Lieutenant Cross of the Guardian Corps to take you."

Alexis then came into the conversation "If Nicholas is going, then I'm going to." The PSICOM soldiers looked amongst themselves before sending a nod our way. To be cautious, our mom always said to bring our weapons whenever being taken somewhere by the military- it's always best to listen to your military parent. As we walked out, I closed the door behind us and we followed the PSICOM soldiers towards the landing pad.

As we walked through Bodhum, I began to notice that we were getting attention. I don't blame the civilians for their curiosity. If I saw a group of soldiers escorting two kids, I would definitely stare as they passed by.

The PSICOM soldier that was in front of us came to a stop in front of a fenced area and on the other side of the fence was the airship that came in by. A soldier on the other side of the fence opened the gate for us before locking it behind us. The hatch of the airship opened and we entered with the soldiers behind us.

Once inside, Alexis and I resided within the bridge where the soldiers brought us to _"This is Pyro, our destination is Eden. ETA: approximately three hours."_ The pilot said over the intercom of the ship. The Pyro began lifting off of the ground of the docking area and began its way back to Eden.

"Nicholas, can I talk to you for a minute?" Alexis asked me.

* * *

**Alexis's POV**

Nicholas nodded. The door to the bridge swished open and we stepped out into the hallway "What is it?" He asked.

I scratched the back of my head before replying "I don't if this make any sense to you but-" I noticed my brother raise an eyebrow "Earlier this morning before mom left for work, she got a call from Derek." Nicholas made no reaction by far, so I continued "I heard them talking over the phone about coming to PSICOM's headquarters in Eden- apparently, the Primach is looking into the new recruits and seeing how they've been shaping up."

"What does this have to with me? I have nothing to do with PSICOM- let alone not being a recruit." He said.

"Actually, you are involved." I said "Mom told me that the Primach knows much of the family and military history. With Derek bringing you up between him and the Primach, the Primach took an interest in you and wishes for you to be in the hands of PSICOM. The only thing that was enough to convince him was your academy records and our father being Jackson Cross." Nicholas's jaw clenched and his eyes became a darker shade of blue. I looked down at the ground. I may not know what Nicholas went through when Derek suddenly enrolled him into the academy but it's obvious that he felt anger and betrayal.

"So…" Nicholas finally spoke as he kept himself cool and collective "This isn't how I imagined my life would go." He muttered before walking away "I need some time to think…"

Letting my brother be, I headed back inside the cockpit and gazed upon the unchanging passing scenery of clouds and blue sky.

Time passed and Eden was finally in our sight. Turning on my heel and walking out of the bridge, I navigated my way through the ship as I searched for Nicholas- however, there were times that I got lost. A PSICOM soldier then came up to me and asked if I needed assistance, I nodded, and asked him if he saw a doppelganger of me except being a male. The soldier nodded and led me to the hull where Nicholas that entered after we boarded. I gave the soldier my thanks before he went back to whatever duty he had.

The door leading into the hull swished open as I walked through. Glancing around the hull to see nothing but piled crates, I then heard a faint snoring. I looked around a stack of crates near the door to see Nicholas laying on the ground and sleeping with his scarf covering his face.

"Nicholas?" I stood over him "Nicholas!" The only answer I got from my brother was 'five more minutes…'. Sighing, I drove the toe of my boot into Nicholas's right side and it was then that he immediately sat up with his scarf still covering his face.

Uncovering his face and looking up to see me, he yawned loudly "Alexis? Where did- how did you find me?"

"I asked a soldier and he directed me to the hull, that he saw you entering." I told him and Nicholas began stretching his limbs "What are you doing in the hull? I was expecting you to be thinking about what I just told you instead of sleeping." Nicholas stood up and strapped his sheathed gunblade around his waist.

"I did exactly that before taking a nap to pass the time." He told me "Just thinking about it makes me question how stupid Derek is…" I said nothing nor comment about it "Derek should know about my feelings towards PSICOM and why they're like that…but who am I to say? Besides, he wasn't even there when a PSICOM soldier told us that father didn't return and proclaimed his body dead."

The voice from before sounded on the intercom _"We have reached our destination. I repeat, we have reached our destination."_

"C'mon," Nicholas began walking of the hull "Lets see what the Primach and _Lieutenant Colonel_ Derek Cross want with me."

* * *

**Nicholas's POV**

After the _Pyro_ landed in Eden, Alexis and I were escorted out of the airship where a man with messy charcoal colored hair and a goatee met us. That is Lieutenant Colonel Derek Cross, our older brother. Instead of his usual bulky armor, Derek wore simple dark brown trousers, a white sleeveless tunic with a high collar, a sleeveless blue hoodie, and black military boots. At a closer look, he had scar from the corner of his left eye to his to the left corner of his mouth. He also had a tattoo on his right forearm of a black inked dragon wrapping itself around his forearm.

"Alexis and Nicholas," He spoke with a bright smile on his face and eyes twinkling. Alexis smiled and hugged him "Damn, two years sure make a difference when it comes to appearances." Derek then went over to me and ruffled my hair. I mentally growled at the action "You two certainly grown!"

"So, Derek," I spoke "What's the deal of having some PSICOM soldiers coming up to the front door and bringing us here?"

Derek made a sheepishly smile "Honestly, I was expecting you to come by yourself, Nick. But knowing Alexis," He looked at Alexis "She'll want to come along. Anyways, come along you two, there's someone who wants to meet you Nick."

Before going inside PSICOM headquarters, Alexis and I gave each other a look. Seems like meeting the Primach is true.

Heading inside the building, we followed Derek through the lobby and towards the elevators which are located at the far right corner of the first floor. Derek pressed the button and called the elevator to the first floor. The elevator dinged and the door swished open, we entered and Derek pressed the button for the 5th floor. The doors closed and the elevator began moving.

I turned back my towards Derek and Alexis and looked out of the glass window to see ships passing by at cruising speeds, "How's everything back at home?" Derek asked.

Seeing my reflection within the glass, Alexis told him "Oh you know, walking about the malls, hanging out with mom at work, sparring, and other things."

"Meet anybody interesting?" Derek asked the both of us. My eyebrow twitched when Alexis told him that I developed a crush on Sergeant Farron, Derek made an amused smile towards my direction. I adjusted my scarf so that it was covering my flushed cheeks. Geez. The elevator came to a stop at the 5th floor and we stepped out. Continuing to follow Derek, we eventually came to a sparring room where a man dressed in white and light purple stood with a blonde woman standing beside him on the left, hands behind her back. On the man's right was a man dressed in PSICOM armor.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cross," The man on the right said with acknowledgement.

"Sir," Derek saluted dutifully before turning back Alexis and I "Alexis and Nick," He began to introduce individually "This is my CO, Anthony Spears. The Primach, Galenth Dysley. And finally, Lieutenant Colonel, Jihl Nabaat."

"Pleasure to meet you," Alexis and I said simultaneously.

"Nicholas Cross," Dysley spoke "Come forward." I looked between Alexis and Derek before obeying and stood in front of the Primach "I went through your academy records and was astonished that you graduated at the top of your class." I said nothing "Should've expected no less from a child of Jackson Cross." I resisted the urge to frown.

"Excuse me, Your Excellency," I said politely "What made you interested in me? Besides my academy records and being the son of Jackson Cross?"

Dysley had a straight face before making a kind smile "Your persona, your ability, and your will." He replied "Those traits are what makes a strong soldier." Derek's CO cleared his throat, I turned around towards the entrance to see a PSICOM Executioner walk into the room with a spear in his hand at the ready "The strength on the body is what also counts."

I quickly unsheathed my gunblade as the Executioner charged straight towards me and our weapons clashed. My body shook at the pressure that the Executioner was placing. Glaring at the Executioner, I sucked in a deep breath and began pushing back.

What the hell does fighting have do with any of this?

The Executioner and I both jumped back. Standing back up, I managed to regain my composure before the Executioner made his move and thrusted his spear towards me but I sidestepped in time to avoid being stabbed. Making my move, I successfully landed a hard roundhouse kick on my opponent's left ribcage. The Executioner reacted and attempted to punch me but I dodged that fist by ducking, followed by knocking the soldier off if his feet. Flipping my gunblade downwards, I went to stab the blade through the Executioner but her grabbed my wrist and flipped me onto my back.

I wheezed as the air was knocked out of my body but I was able to move before the tip of the spear pierced my head.

* * *

**Alexis's POV**

I watched from the sidelines as Nicholas nearly dodged the spear that now stabbed the matted floor underneath their feet. Truth be told, I felt nervous because Nicholas has never been in a fight with an actual soldier- with our older brother as an exception. Nicholas regained composure and got into his fighting position.

The Executioner and my brother just stared at each other for a moment before resuming their fight.

Eventually, Nicholas got the upper-hand in the fight and turned the tables in his favor. With the Executioner on his back, Nicholas panted heavily and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his gloved hand. He began to falter in his balance but I rushed to his side in an instant, Nicholas nodded his thanks for catching him before collapsing onto the ground.

"Quite a show, my child." Dysley commented, walking up to the both of us "There's no question that you have your father's fighting style nor any doubt that you defeated the soldier." Nicholas didn't reply "Congratulations, young Cross," The Primach said with a smile "You have been recruited into PSICOM. Consider it to be an honor that you'll be following your father's footsteps."

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Nicholas said while trying to hide his sudden anger "I am most honored." With that Nicholas sheathed his gunblade and walked out of the room with me and Derek following close behind him.

We arrived back at the elevator that Derek just called. After opening its doors to us, we boarded and it took us back down to the 1st floor "So, Nick," Derek began "Got anything to say?" Nicholas didn't say anything except give our older brother a full on glare until the elevator doors opened up again. My twin then marched right towards the entrance and kicked open the doors "Nicholas, wait a second!" Derek rushed past me and placed a hand on Nicholas's shoulder but Nicholas instantly reacted by punching Derek in the face, and with enough force to damage his jaw.

PSICOM soldiers moved in with their guns trained on Nicholas and Derek ordered them to lower their weapons "Come on Alexis," Nicholas said in a low tone "Lets head back home so that I resume my now messed up life."

With that, we left Eden on the same airship as before.

* * *

**A/N: So there's the second chappy of _Heart of a Soldier_! The updating schedule has been decided but I'm unsure about it. Basically, I'll upload a chapter every Saturday but as of today (Friday) I'll make it an exception because I got this chapter done early. Anyways, until the next time on _Heart of a Soldier_! See ya!**

**Don't forget to review~!**

**P.S. Thank you to those who favorite, alerted, and reviewed! It means a lot to me.**


	3. Traitors on the Field

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the 3rd chapter of _Heart of a Soldier_! Sorry for taking so long. Thank you to those who reviewed/favorite/alerted!**

**A/N #2: Doing some heavy re-editing on chapters because there are things that I just _need_ to add**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII rightfully belongs to Square Enix**  
**Claimer: Heart of a Soldier and its OCs belong to me**

***Re-edited 7/2/2014**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter III: Traitors on the Field**

* * *

Engines whirred and soldiers were reporting in from their stations of the cockpit. The airship, _Sky Hawk_, is on its way to the Hanging Edge. Why? Earlier, Sanctum received readings of an active fal'Cie near Bodhum and declared every citizen to be purged. It was then that Derek suggested to mom that she relocate to the family vacation home at Palumpolum, just for her own safety. Mom argued that she's staying in the town that she grew up in but Derek eventually persuaded her and so, mom moved.

At the moment, I'm standing on the bridge of the _Sky Hawk_, which has its coursed routed to the Hanging Edge. From what I told by Derek was that people were being purged because they lived too close to the fal'Cie. So, the Primach selected Derek to supervise the Purge and so that I can have some experience of working within PSICOM, he actually suggested to Lieutenant Colonel Cross to bring me along. But once Alexis caught wind, she actually threatened our older brother to bring her along.

So, here Alexis was. Standing next to me and leaning against the wall behind us. I looked down to the ring on Alexis's left index finger and the one in my gloved hand. The rings are similar in a way, the bands were made out of titanium but the engravings are of a different color: mine was gold and Alexis's was purple.

"There you two are," I looked up from the ring to see Derek walking towards us from the doorway of the bridge. Both Alexis and I then noticed the helmets that he was carrying in both hands. I then slipped the ring onto my right ring finger, which happens to be the only finger that the ring can fit around "We need to head to the hull, since we're nearing out destination. Oh, and you'll need these." Derek handed us the helmets "Standard PSICOM helmets." He told us

"Are these helmets really necessary Derek?" Alexis asked him and Derek nodded.

After a while walking through pathways, I noticed that the airship started jolting around and I have to say, it was difficult to walk. We eventually came to the hull where a man with slick back pure white hair and fairly tanned skin and a group of soldiers waited "Lieutenant Colonel Cross," The white-haired man turned towards our direction.

"Colonel Redd," Derek acknowledged. Both of them grasped the others' forearm "It's honor to meet you."

"Ditto." Colonel Redd said before letting go, he then looked towards us "So, this is your younger sibling that you're bringing along?" He asked and our older brother nodded "You must be Nicholas Cross." I nodded my head "I must say, PSICOM is quite lucky having the members of the Cross family within its ranks." He then turned towards Alexis "Might I ask your name?"

"Alexis Cross, sir." She replied.

Colonel Redd looked at Derek "I believe I was notified that you were bringing the one that was recruited by the Primach, himself?"

"I did." Derek replied "But Alexis insisted that she come along as well." The airship began to shake more than it did before "Alright team, fall in!" Derek barked and the group of soldiers did so "We will be arriving to our destination soon. Colonel Redd's team will be dropped off at Location A while my team will dropped off at Location B. As the order came from Sanctum, our main objective is to-"

The voice of the pilot then interrupted Derek in the middle of his sentence _"Attention! Attention! We're under heavy fire and will not be able to arrive to __our destination!"_ A loud explosion was then heard. Derek ran towards the control panel of the hull and pressed a button to open the hatch. Bracing ourselves as the rushing winds came into the hull, we saw that the Hanging Edge had become a battlefield between the civilians and PSICOM soldiers. What the hell is going on? As I stared outside, Alexis elbowed me on the side and gestured me to put the helmet on. I did so. My eyes flinched at the brightness of the orange screen before it dimmed to a comfortable lighting. Both Derek and Colonel Redd did the same thing. However, what I didn't expect to see was a missile hit the side of the _Sky Hawk__._

Alexis was knocked off of her feet from the missile strike and began sliding towards the edge of the hatch "Nicholas!" She screamed through the roaring wind.

I heard Derek shouting my name by ignored him and went straight for my sister. I grabbed her hand and with Lady Luck by my side, I was able to grab onto the edge of the hatch with my free hand "Hang on!"

"Doing my best!" I heard Alexis's panicked reply through my helmet. But the airship swaying left to right and trying to maintain its control, it was becoming difficult to hang onto Alexis and the hatch "Nicholas! 2 o'clock!" I looked over my shoulder to see yet another missile coming towards our way and it successfully exploded against the side of the airship. Alexis's hand was ripped from my hand and I lost my grip on the hatch.

With the air rushing past my body, it was difficult to move towards Alexis and grab her hand. We were centimeters apart until arms were wrapped around our mid-section. It was Derek and Colonel Redd. Derek managed to grab me while Colonel Redd went after Alexis. I moved my head back to Alexis but she was already gone with Colonel Cross and his part of the team.

I held my breath as something small whizzed by my helmet, looking down towards the platform, I noticed civilians shooting at us. Derek pulled out a grav-com from the belt of his bulky uniform and threw it towards the ground. He maneuvered his body out of his nosedive and landed within the neon blue energy of the grav-com. Derek tossed me behind some crates, the group of four soldiers followed suit and began firing their weapons.

After the fight, I stood up from my cover and noticed the now dead civilians on the ground with their blood pooling around them.

Derek and his group then regrouped "Alright," I heard my older brother say through my helmet "From here on out, we are to regroup with Colonel Redd but remember the main objective-" My heart skipped a beat "Kill every civilian that we encounter."

"Yes sir!" The group of soldiers shouted although there were some who seemed hesitant. They then moved forward.

"Dere-"

"Get moving Nick." Derek cut me off "I don't need anyone lagging on the job." And just like that, Derek's persona changed once on the field "And you are to call me Lieutenant Colonel when on the field." He barked before following his men.

I scowled before following him "Since when did Sanctum give the order to kill everyone? Doesn't the government care about its people?"

"Are you questioning the given orders?!" Derek stopped once again.

"Of course not, Lieutenant Colonel Cross." I replied with a hint of sarcasm "What you're doing is wrong, Derek! What's good about committing murder to those who don't deserve to die? The citizens are here to be Purged! Not to be killed out of cold blood!"

Lieutenant Colonel Cross turned on his heel, marched right up to me and roughly grabbed me by the scarf and pulled me towards his face until I was on the tip of my toes and our helmets barely touched. I cringed "This is not the time to be arguing over the order from Sanctum. When the soldiers of PSICOM are given an order, we accept it and complete it. We don't question it- just do it."

"So, you want me, your little brother, to go and kill countless of innocent people because Sanctum says so? Is that the kind of future you want me to have? To become a killer?!" I asked in the harshest voice I could muster "I would rather be executed rather than get blood of innocents on my hands." Derek released his grip on my scarf before I brushed past him and the group of soldiers moved away.

"Nick, this isn't what father would want from you. How would he react if he saw you taking this path?" My footsteps came to a halt and my whole body tensed as he mentioned our father. How would bringing up our dead father in this conversation help the situation? Is Derek a total moron?!

"To hell with that he thinks." I spat "I'm sure that he doesn't want his own children killing innocent people- especially his twins." The PSICOM soldiers formed a line with their guns trained on me and ready to pull the trigger.

"Last chance, Nick." Derek warned me "If you continue to disobey then PSICOM will mark you a traitor and we'll be forced to kill you without hesitation."

I unsheathed my gunblade and pointed it towards Derek and the soldiers "Try me."

* * *

**Alexis's POV**

"Seems like those sparring matches really paid off." I muttered to myself as I sheathed my gunblade after taking out a group of three PSICOM soldiers. Removing my helmet, I inhaled a large amount of air before exhaling, all this fighting is making me exhausted. Besides this group of PSICOM soldiers, I was able to outrun Colonel Redd and his group once I discovered the new assignment of killing innocents. Knowing Nicholas, if he found out about this Sanctum order, things will go downhill.

A familiar voice then came through my helmet _"Alexis! Can you hear me?! Alexis!"_ It's Nicholas! Although he sounds difficult to understand.

I slipped on my helmet and replied "Nicholas! I can hear you loud and clear."

"_Good, you don't know how difficult it was to get-"_ He stopped and I raised an eyebrow _"Ahold of you."_ He continued his sentence. In the background, I can hear rapid fire _"Damn it…!" _More gunshots were heard but more separated.

"Nicholas, are you fighting?" I suddenly asked.

"There she is!" I turned my head my left and I instantly stood up to see four PSICOM soldiers running towards me "We got the traitor within our sights." I sighed heavily as I unsheathed my gunblade and switched it to its sword form.

"Lovely, more accompany." I muttered under my breath.

"_Let me guess, you got soldiers on your end?" _I huffed in response, Nicholas must be smirking on his side _"Did you found about Sanctum's order of mass murder?"_

"The moment Colonel Redd and his soldiers began shooting civilians." I answered, I dashed forward while dodging the flying bullets. Bullets nearly came into contact with my body but I managed "I took out his soldiers before making a break for it. He must've contacted nearby groups." I jumped and landed a kick on a soldier's head.

"_Same with me except for the whole shooting-the-soldiers-thing."_ Nicholas commented as he grunted _"Basically, got into an argument with Derek and he declared me an official PSICOM traitor."_

"Hmm, that puts us in the same boat." I said, kneeing a soldier in the stomach and slicing his head off. With only two left, things were getting easier for me. However, before I can take care of the remaining two, a barrage of bullets flew past my body and penetrated the bodies of the soldiers. The PSICOM soldiers dropped dead. Turning around, I came face-to-face to armed civilians "Wow…didn't expect to this…" I sheathed my gunblade and put my hands up in surrender.

"_You're telling me…"_ Nicholas muttered _"I don't know whether to be glad or scared…or both…"_

I ignored my brother for a moment as a blonde man wearing a grey coat and black bandana walked up to me. I narrowed my eyes, wait, I've seen this guy before…where? "Huh, a PSICOM soldier surrendering, I guess you don't see that everyday." Snow Villiers! Now I remember! Guardian Corps has data on the members who are part of a group called NORA. Although I heard that they always butted into Guardian Corps business.

"As you should know, I'm not technically a soldier." I replied, keeping my hands up in a surrender pose. The blonde, who now known as Snow, raised an eyebrow "I came here along side my twin brother to supervise the Purge. But apparently, everything decided to take the turn for the worst."

"_Gotta go, Alexis. I'll check in later."_ Like that Nicholas disconnected.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Alexis Cross." I took off my helmet and rubbed the back of my neck with my free hand "Consider me as a traitor to PSICOM as I had my fair share of soldiers on the way here."

"So, if you're a traitor to PSICOM. Where do you stand in all this?" He asked.

Well, it should pretty obvious by this point "NORA." I replied then Snow placed a hand on my shoulder with a grin on his face. At that moment, more PSICOM soldiers appeared.

The blonde got into a fighting stance with his fists "Do you mind giving us some support in the fight?" I looked to the PSICOM soldiers then back to Snow.

Accepting, I slipped my helmet back on and unsheathed my gunblade "You got my support."

* * *

**Nicholas's POV**

I ended the call with Alexis as it seems she has her hands full with PSICOM soldiers. Something whizzed past my head and I immediately unsheathed my gunblade as I turned to face...Lightning? Relief washed over me as I saw her, thank whatever that it wasn't PSICOM soldiers. Lightning switched her gunblade into its sword form before breaking into a dash towards me. Crap! Sparks flew as our gunblade collided against each other, metal scraping against metal. I had used the flat side of my gunblade to block Lightning's horizontal downward swing.

She caught her footing after I her shoved her backwards, her blue aqua eyes caught mine in a cold glare- which sent shivers through my spine. That went unnoticed. I switched my hold to back-handed and kept my guard up, this is going to be a pain in the ass to tell her that it's me, while we're fighting. I became hesitant on making the first move to attack, so Lightning took it as an opportunity to land an attack.

More sparks flew as we fought, I remained on the defense and blocked her attacks. As for Lightning, she nearly got me and penetrated my body with her gunblade. I skidded back and stopped with one knee on the ground. Looking up, Lightning was walking towards me and I forced myself up but caught myself staggering. Lightning broke into a sprint with her gunblade ready to strike.

Upon instinct, I grabbed the hand that gripped the hilt of the weapon. Using her left hand now, she cocked back a fist but I trapped her arm under my right arm and held it between my gunblade and arm. Our faces were merely a few inches away from each other and my cheeks started burning up, so was Lightning's cheeks.

Suddenly, in one quick motion, Lightning managed to knock me off my feet. I gasped for air as I landed harshly on my back. I went to prop myself onto my elbows but I was stopped by the point of a gunblade which was a hair strand away from my throat. Looking up through my helmet, my eyes locked with the pinkette's aqua colored eyes. Who knew Lightning would be a difficult opponent.

Poising her gunblade for the final strike, I immediately put my hands up in surrender and yelled "Wait! Don't kill me!" The final blow didn't come. I looked up at the pinkette "Lightning, it's me, Nicholas." She narrowed her eyes and not risking anything. I removed my helmet and Lightning blinked several times "Crazy how we ran each other, huh?"

"Quite the fighter, Nicholas" She said, regaining her cool and the redness of her cheeks faded away "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."

"Long story short: I got dragged here by my older brother, Alexis and I got separated, shot a few soldiers, got branded as a traitor, and nearly got killed by you." I said, standing up.

"Alexis got recruited as well?" She asked.

I shook my head "No, she actually threaten her way to come along."

"If you don't me asking." Lightning's companion asked, who wore an olive-green coat over a white buttoned-up shirt, tan colored pants, and black boots. He had two gun holsters strapped around both of his thighs "How old are two? You and your sister, I mean."

"We're both 19." I replied.

Lightning scoffed, "Seems like PSICOM is in desperate need of soldiers that they're actually recruiting kids?"

I shook my head "I was recruit by the Primach, himself. Totally different from PSICOM recruiting you themselves." Lightning sheathed her gunblade, turned on her heel and began walking off with her companion trailing behind. I looked down at the helmet in my hands before rushing towards Lightning, I stopped in front of her which caused her and her companion to stop "Take me with you." I said bluntly.

Lightning crossed her arms over her chest "Why should I?"

"I just want to find Alexis." I said "You must be looking for someone like everybody else, right?" Either it was just me or did Lightning twitch at my question? She looked away. Lightning just walked around me but I stood in front of her again and this time, she gave me an ice cold glare that made me shudder "Look, once I find Alexis, I'll stay out of your way. Simple, yeah?"

She just looked at me for a few moments before letting out a clearly annoyed sigh, "Fine." She said "But you are to listen to what I tell you." I nodded sternly.

* * *

**A/N: And so there's chapter 3, hope you guys enjoyed it. As a heads up, I'm trying my best to type chapters ahead of time (helps me while little inspiration bunnies are still hopping around) Anyways, until the next time I update! See ya!**

**Don't forget to drop a review, I like to see how this story is coming along X3**


	4. Fallen Innocence

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the 4****th**** chapter of **_**Heart of a Soldier**_**! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII and its characters belong to Square Enix  
Claimer: **_**Heart of a Soldier**_** and its OCs belong to me**

***Re-edited 5/29/14**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter IV: Fallen Innocence**

* * *

A pantheron lunged towards me with its teeth bared, I side-stepped and slashed its side before it dropped onto the ground. My gunblade was changed into its gun form but the PSICOM soldier that I was aiming for had already been taken out by one of Snow's companions.

"_Mobilize beta force! Put down the resistance!"_ A soldier's voice was heard through my helmet. That doesn't sound good. Above us, a Skytank lowered itself close to the ground. From the top of the warship, a large bioweapon jumped down and landed in front of us, causing the ground to shake.

"Heroes don't run from fights." Snow and his companions got into their fighting stance and I did the same. The bioweapon stood on its hind legs before roaring and charging straight towards us on all fours.

Bullets met their target as Snow and I attacked the bioweapon up front. The bioweapon swiped its claws at us but we avoided getting hit. After minutes of firing bullets, punching, slashing, and dodging. The bioweapon collapsed onto the ground.

"I suspected more from that Beta Behemoth." I muttered under my breath as I took cover with Snow and a silver-haired woman. In the distance, PSICOM soldiers were being dropped and were forced to retreat.

Above us, the same Skytank that dropped off the bioweapon began firing its turret guns. The civilians were able to get behind cover but some were taken out "Snow! We got trouble!" One of the NORA members shouted.

"No kidding." Snow muttered, he looked over the cover and spotted something in the distance. I followed his gaze and noticed that he was looking at the bazooka "Stay down you two." He told me and the woman before running off as the firing ceased. Snow dived for the weapon but was unable to grab it once the bullets started firing again. As the Skytank prepared to fired its main cannon, the cockpit exploded.

I stood up from the cover as the woman helped Snow back onto his feet. Snow waved towards me and I jogged over towards them. It was then that a large explosion occurred behind me and the force of it knocked me off my feet. It was deafening at first as I can only hear the ringing in my ears, then I heard the sound of many civilians screaming. Getting onto my knees, I removed my helmet and gasped for air. Looking to my right, I saw Snow holding the now injured woman in his arms. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed many civilians sliding down the dangling motorway and fell into the darkness below.

The motorway that we were on started to tilt downwards and the next thing I knew was that I was sliding towards the edge but I was able to grab onto a metal bar that stuck out. Snow did the same as he held the silver-haired woman's hand "You alright there, kid?"

I nodded "Just fine, albeit scared shitless."

"Get him home…please…" The woman said to Snow.

"Hold on!" He told her. The woman made a peaceful smile before her body went limp. Snow tried his best to keep his grip on the woman but he loses it and the silver-haired woman plummeted into the abyss below.

"Damn you PSICOM!" I growled as I struggled to get myself back onto the motorway's flat surface but the motorway gave away and I lost my hold on the metal bar "Nicholas!"

Everything went black.

* * *

**Nicholas's POV**

I sat Indian style with my helmet in my lap as I gazed at the ships that zoomed by and the explosions that occurred beneath us on the motorways. We had just taken care of a group of PSICOM soldiers that were positioned on this transporting bridge "It's an out-and-out massacre." The man with the afro muttered "Those people won't even live long enough to die on Pulse."

Lightning then stood between him and I "That was the idea." She said.

"What?" The old timer looked at her.

"Sanctum logic." Lightning replied simply "They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat. I mean- why carry the danger all the way to Pulse? Why not just stamp it out here?"

"It's better to eliminate now it than suffer the consequences down the road." I said, remaining seated and looked at the two "As said by my mentors at the academy."

Lightning nodded "Execution masquerading as exile. That's all the Purge ever was."

The old timer sighed and shrugged his shoulders "'Relocation to Pulse'. How does a government get away with pulling crap like that?" He then turned to Lightning "And you- you knew this was gonna happen?"

Lightning shook her head "The Purge was PSICOM. Private Sanctum troops, not the Guardian Corps."

"PSICOM, Guardian Crops…soldiers are soldiers, aren't they?" The old timer questioned "Pulse fal'Cie, and their l'Cie, are enemies of the state. Tell a soldier to kill an enemy…and you really think it's gonna matter what uniform he's wearing?"

I looked over my left shoulder towards the soldier corpse "Might have mattered to that one. Couldn't shoot, got himself shot instead."

"How about you?" He asked Lightning "Orders say shoot, you pull the trigger?" The old timer huffed as he didn't get an answer "Fine. Forget I asked."

My eyes caught a red blur and I jumped onto my feet. As it boarded the bridge, I noticed that it was a Myrmidon. A machine like that can cause some serious damage if its attacks are not dodged. Although with the Myrmidon's speed, I was able to block its attack with my gunblade and the helmet was knocked out of my hand. With the Myrmidon pressing against my weapon, I started getting pushed back, inch by inch "You damned piece of scrap metal!" I growled, trying my hardest to push forward.

"We got your back kid!" The old timer shouted as he and Lightning attacked the Myrmidon from behind. The machine skidded backwards and I merely stumbled forwards.

We fought for a while with the Myrmidon until it completely shut down. We then sheathed our weapons.

Looking over the edge of our transportation, I sighed heavily "How the hell am I suppose to contact Alexis?" I loud siren reached my ears and I looked over my shoulder.

"What's that?" The older timer asked.

"_Attention Purge deportees. Attention Purge deportees. Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon. Should you attempt to flee, the Sanctum will employ every source necessary to bring you to justice. This land is no longer your home. Cease hostilities and surrender at once."_

I stared in awe. So, that's the Pulse Vestige.

* * *

**Alexis's POV**

I grunted as I struggled to get off my back. Pain coursed through my body from our fall off of the motorway. Nothing was broken- although I couldn't say the same with the PSICOM helmet. I took it off and tossed it to the side before looking up to see ships flying above us, my eyes widen at what they were carrying "The Pulse Vestige…" I muttered.

* * *

**Nicholas's POV**

"Just what you were looking for." The old timer folded his arms across his chest.

"Yeah. Right in there." Lightning replied.

"The Pulse fal'Cie. Huh."

"What about you, Nicholas?" Lightning turned her gaze upon me "Staying on?"

My eyes went to her from the fal'Cie "I have a feeling that Alexis is going to be in there. So, yes. I'm staying with you until we're reunited."

With that, Lightning walked towards the edge of the bridge and kneeled down. I took a spot next to her and looked down at the motorway below us "So, how do you figure that Pulse fal'Cie is different from the Sanctum's?" The old timer asked "All things being equal, I'd just as soon keep wondering." He said, as a small chocobo chick chirped in his gloved hands.

"Seems like a long drop from up he-" The next thing I knew was Lightning running past me and jumping off the edge with the old timer yelling after her.

"What-? Hey!" He rushed to where Lightning jumped off and looked down. From above, we noticed Lightning flip out from her nosedive and landed perfectly on her feet "Damn."

"Well," I said standing up and took a spot next to the old guy, I turned around and gave him a mock salute "See you groundside." I said before falling backwards. As I fell, I maneuvered my body and I landed in a small field on neon blue energy. I walked out of the small energy field, a bit winded "Went a little better than expected." I muttered to myself and jogged after Lightning.

* * *

**Alexis's POV**

After a while of searching for survivors, Snow and I came across one of the NORA members. If I remember correctly, his name was Gadot, from what I heard Snow say from time to time while fighting. Snow moved Gadot into a sitting position and patted his cheek "Come on. Come on!" Snow began slapping the guy awake.

Gadot awoke and hissed in pain as he placed his right hand on his left shoulder. Gadot looked around to see the lifeless bodies of civilians and PSICOM soldiers "What about the others?" He asked, turning to Snow. The leader of NORA didn't say anything "They didn't die! They couldn't have died!"

"Of course not." Came Snow's reply.

Gadot stood up and adjusted his left shoulder "Hey, get a grip, man!" He told Snow "What's wrong with you?"

"'Get him home…'" Snow muttered to himself "Get _who _home?"

"A friend? Family member?" I thought and Snow just sighed. An explosion was heard, we looked upwards towards the source to see a transporting bridge crash into a building. The bridge then began to fall.

"Toss me that." Snow grabbed a discarded gun from a nearby soldier corpse and tossed it over to Gadot.

Snow turned around to see his comrade pointing the gun at him, my hand hovered over my gunblade "What are you doing?" Snow questioned him.

"So what are you afraid of, huh?" I raised an eyebrow "You're supposed to be the hero." Gadot made a hearty laugh and placed the gun against his shoulder "She's waiting there, ain't she? Your lovely bride-to-be." He gestured towards the fal'Cie "Isn't it about time you picked her up?"

"Yeah." Snow replied with a grin.

We took over as three velocycles flew over us and landed not too far from us "That's our ride." Snow said, walking out from cover.

"Velocycle hijacking," I said amused "Can't wait."

Gadot let out a chuckle "Now you're talking."

As we maneuvered around the pieces of the fallen motorway, bullets suddenly came raining down and nearly pierced my body but not before I instantly reacted and jumped away. Three PSICOM Aerial Recon soldiers hovered close to the ground with two Pantherons backing them up.

I didn't take us very long to defeat them but I got a close call of a bullet that nearly caught my cheek. Afterwards, we climbed up and down stairs that went around large stacks of crates.

Peeking around the corner of a large crate, there were five PSICOM soldiers "I want every weapon ready to fire." Said a soldier.

"Stay sharp."

"All right, on my go." Snow told Gadot, who nodded. I remained behind them as Snow counted down from three. Once signaled, Gadot moved out into the open and let loose a barrage of bullets, killing two soldiers in the process. The last three were quickly dispatched. I sheathed my gunblade and we walked over towards the three velocycles and each of us got our own.

Getting myself comfortable, I revved up the engine "That's a sad sound." Gadot commented "Where's the soul?"

I noticed the vestige, and made a thoughtful look. With contacting Nicholas not being an option anymore, it was difficult to say if he's thinking about going to the fal'Cie and hoping to find me there. I couldn't say but going there is my best bet if I want to find him "Alexis!" I looked towards Snow to see him and Gadot already in the air "You ready?"

"Yeah!" My velocycle started getting into the air and moved onto Snow's left.

"Ready…" Gadot said.

Both of them leaned forward "Go!" Snow shouted. Our velocycles zoomed through the air with Snow in the lead.

* * *

**A/N:** **So there's chapter 4! Hope everybody enjoyed it (as I decided to skip some scenes) Until the next time on **_**Heart of a Soldier**_**! See ya!**

**Don't forget to drop a review! Reviews make me cry tears of joy!**


	5. Into the Vestige

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the 5th chapter of _Heart of a Soldier_! Thank you to those who reviewed, it means a lot to me. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII and its characters belong to Square Enix  
Claimer: I only own the OCs**

***Re-edited 7/1/2014**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter V: Into the Vestige**

* * *

The vestige, we're actually inside the vestige. I stared in awe at the design of our surroundings, machines are more of my cup of tea but the architecture is rather impressive. While my head was up in clouds, I accidently bumped into Snow who was standing there "Sorry, Snow." I said and he nodded in acknowledgement of my apology.

"Don't worry, Serah. Your hero is on his way." He muttered. Serah? I became curious about this Serah person and why in the world would she be in a place like this. Snow started moving on ahead with me following him "So, Alexis," He spoke up "You said you came to the Hanging Edge with your brother, right?" I replied with a nod "Do you know where he is?"

I frowned, "In all honesty, I don't have the slightest clue. However, I have a feeling that I might find him here. If I'm lucky, he might've gotten the same idea."

"Well, just hold onto hope and faith." Snow patted me on the head, he then pointed at something off in the distance that caught his eye "You see that over there?"

I followed his line of vision to see a machine with a bright green light "A switch maybe?"

"Only one way to find out." He said.

As we descended down the stairs, we encountered two Pantherons who were just minding their own business until they saw us. Both of us took one of our own to fight. I unsheathed my gunblade as the Pantheron that I'm fighting stalked around me. I remained poised, ready to strike. The Pantheron roared before charging straight towards me but I sidestepped in time and made a swift slash movement on its side as it passed. Its body went limb as the bioweapon hit the ground.

I turned to Snow as I sheathed my gunblade behind me. Seems like Snow didn't have the slightest trouble.

We resumed walking towards the machine and Snow reached out to touch it. In response to his touch, the light turned yellow. I looked over my shoulder to see several other machines to see them turning the same color. It was then that I took notice of the shifting floors around us before the floor emitted a bright red light.

Looking up to where we started, a bright odd-looking mark appeared then faded away to reveal a platform in its place.

* * *

**Nicholas's POV**

I played with the end of my scarf as the old timer, who introduced himself as Sazh, and I sat on the ground. For what it seems like hours, Lightning has been hacking away at the locked door that we came across.

"Still won't budge?" Sazh asked. I looked back at the door and for some reason, something was nagging me at the back of my head once I laid my eyes on that odd-looking mark. But I simply ignored it "I think the door is winning." Sazh said, standing up and stretching.

"Why didn't I listen?" Lightning muttered, I raised an eyebrow at her spoken words.

"Uh, beg your pardon?" Sazh asked. Lightning muttered something else "Beg your pardon?" Sazh tried again.

"Cover your ears." Was the first thing that Lightning told us.

"Oh, blast charge? Hold on, hold on!" I watched as Sazh scurried to a safe distance and covered his ears "All right, go for it! Make it happen!"

I was about to say something but Lightning beat me to it, "You too, Nicholas," She told me. I complied and turned my back towards her and the door and 'covered' my ears. I know for fact that nobody had the gut to carry blast charges- especially with the murdering going on outside the vestige "I'm so sorry." I heard Lightning say "Please let me in. Please?" I waited for the door to start opening before standing back up. What made her say that?

Sazh heard the door rumble as it opened and instantly stood up "What the- hey!" He moved over to where Lightning stood "What did- how'd you open it?"

The door began to close shut as we walked on through. Just as we were about step one foot onto the first staircase, three Pantherons came racing down. We unsheathed our weapons and got straight into the fight.

The fight, however, didn't last that long. We ran up another set of stairs to encounter more two more Pantherons, a group of Zwerg Scandroids. The Pantherons were the first to notice us. Lightning, with her gunblade already in hand, dashed forward and caught both of them in a Blitz attack. I followed after her as Sazh stayed behind and fired bullets. The Pantheron on Lightning's right shifted its gaze from her to me.

After that, the fight was done.

I would say that it's all clear but it would true if that Myrmidon wasn't blocking our path to the stairs behind it. Ever since our first encounter one of these, they are really annoying.

The Myrmidon made the first move and dashed in our direction. I rolled off to the side to avoid it and Lightning did the same. Bullets zoomed by and bounced off of its shield. With my gunblade now in hand, Lightning and I made a run for it and crossed each other in an 'x' formation. I shifted my hold to back-handed before slashing at its legs. As for Lightning, I didn't expect her to plant a foot between my shoulder blades and used me as leverage to attack the upper half of the Myrmidon.

The machine toppled over from its unstable legs and crashed onto the ground. The Myrmidon now laid on the ground, unmoving. We sheathed our weapons and I rolled my shoulders "Would you mind telling me before you put a boot on me?" I asked Lightning as we walked up the stairs.

"It's always best to take advantage of the situation." She said without looking at me. I don't really know how to reply to that, but she said it like it was fighting advice. I mentally shrugged and took it as that.

As arrived to the top of the stairs, I was barely tackled to the ground by a Pantheron who sunk its teeth into my left forearm. But I was swift enough to unsheathe my gunblade and slice its head off. Two Zwerg Scandroids appeared behind us but were easily dispatched by a single Blitz attack by Lightning. On top of the next stairs, there was another Myrmidon and Pantheron, which took us some time to deal with.

"If those soldiers are still around, might be some soldiers trapped in here, too." Sazh said as we approached the next set of stairs "Except they'd probably be l'Cie by now. Not even human anymore. Just Pulse l'Cie. Enemies of Cocoon. Can't show 'em any mercy."

* * *

**Alexis's POV**

We arrived at another part of the vestige "There's the next one." Snow pointed towards the same glowing machine. I nodded before following the blonde. As we near the machine, there were two Zwerg Scandroids and a Pantheron "Alexis, take care of the Scandroids. Leave the Pantheron to me."

The Zwer Scandroids were both taken out by a single blitz attack with the Pantheron caught up within the attack. Snow then finished off the bioweapon with several poundings by his fists. Snow then activated the machine afterwards, with the green light turning yellow.

Ahead of us, a platform descended down "All right!" Snow said before we walked up the stairs and hopped onto the platform "Hang on, baby! Your hero's on the way!" He shouted. I couldn't help but to smile at Snow's determination as the platform descended.

The sound of moaning then caught our attention. I looked over the edge of the platform and below us to see these shambling creatures with long arms and a red eye on their chests. I merely shivered at the sight "Cie'ths," I muttered, noticing Snow stand next to me and look down "I was told that Cie'ths are l'Cie who failed to complete their Focus that was given to them by the fal'Cie."

"Seems like you know plenty." Snow commented and I nodded "Odd that the Cie'ths are moving away from us." As the platform came to a stop, Snow immediately ran off the platform and through the crowd of Cie'ths. I was about to yell after him until I noticed two figures standing in the middle of a group of Cie'ths. I unsheathed my gunblade and switched it to its sword form. Snow made a war cry as he shoved his way through the Cie'ths while I began slashing at them and dodging their waving arms. Snow made it to where the two figures stood "Let's even these odds!" I heard him shout.

I ducked a waving arm of a Cie'th and made a clean upwards slash on its chest before making a downward horizontal slash. The Cie'th collapsed to the ground as I moved to the next one. The Cie'th moaned gravely around me, one by one, the Cie'th collapsed onto the ground as I slashed through them in an attempt to make my way up the stairs.

Sheathing my gunblade, I hurried up the stairs to see at least a dozen dead Cie'th bodies littered amongst the floor "How did you get in here? You've gotta leave." Snow told the two. The blonde noticed me and I waved to him that I was fine. He nodded.

My eyes went over to the two characters.

The first one I noticed was the silver-haired boy who collapsed onto his hands and knees from exhaustion. He wore a yellow and orange jacket with a black shirt underneath it, a green bandana around his neck, blue and white gloves, dark green pants that went to his knees, and white shoes with black laces.

The next one I noticed was the orange-red haired girl. She wore a pink tanktop, a multi-colored skirt, a pelt of fur that went from her hips to the knees, and yellow heeled boots. For some reason, she looks oddly familiar, like I met her somewhere. The girl made a nervous smile.

"Okay, listen. Find someplace to hide and keep quiet." Snow told them "Once I find Serah, we'll all leave together." He walked past them and I followed "You'll be home in time for dinner." Snow looked over his shoulder and gave them a thumbs up.

"You-"

"Wait!" The girl called to us in an accent. Snow and I stopped and turned around to face them "Who's Serah?" She asked.

"My wife. Future wife, that is." Snow replied "She's a Pulse l'Cie." I held my breath, so that's why he came here "She's here somewhere, along with that fal'Cie. I've gotta find her and set her free."

We were about to move until the silver-haired boy found his voice "What's wrong with you?" He demanded "Why do you want to help a l'Cie? They're the enemy! How can you save a l'Cie, and not…and not…that's insane!" He stomped his foot.

"Probably." Snow rubbed the back of his head "But I gotta do something, right? I'll be back! Come on, Alexis!" I nodded and followed him down the stairs.

"You think it's really wise to have them stay there?" I asked as I slowed to a stop "I would say safety in numbers is the best option."

"You're probably right," Snow turned around "Stay here while I get them." I nodded and watched as Snow ran back up the stairs.

* * *

**Nicholas's POV**

We've made progress as we fought through Pantheron and Zwerg Scandroids, although it was quiet within the group. I held up my hand that wore the ring that Alexis gave to me while we were still aboard the airship, the golden engravings glowed brightly. I glanced over to Lightning, who was walking on my right, she told Sazh and I that she was looking for something within this vestige. I'm not going to lie, but I'm rather curious.

"So, Lightning," I began and she grunted in response "I'm curious, what are you looking for? Or better yet, who?" I asked. She stopped in her tracks- crap, I think I shouldn't have asked that "O-of course, you don't have to tell me, I-I was just-"

"I'm looking for my sister," She replied.

"Your sister? You mean Serah?" I questioned, Lightning didn't reply "But if Serah's here, then that means she's a…" She turned to looked at me with a hard gaze, but I saw a hint of sorrow and guilt. Serah is a Pulse l'Cie "That explains everything then," I muttered "A l'Cie, huh?"

"What? A _Pulse_ l'Cie?" Sazh came into our short conversation.

Lightning nodded "The fal'Cie has her captive. But I'll find her."

"Is she still…?" Before Sazh can say anything else, Lightning pushed forwards but the old timer moved in front of her which caused the pinkette to stop "What was her Focus? When she became a l'Cie, what did the fal'Cie order her to do? It wasn't 'blow up Cocoon,' or anything like that, was it?"

"I didn't ask," Lightning looked away.

Moans caught our attention from the top of the stairs to our right, those are Cie'ths. Sazh continued talking "Listen to me. When a person gets cursed by a fal'Cie, they become a l'Cie. Then they get given a Focus, right?" Lightning didn't say anything "How do I put this? If they don't carry it out, l'Cie end up as one of those things. What I'm saying is, if your sister's gone that far…I mean-!" She turned her back towards him "She might still-! How can I-?" Sazh went silent for a moment, he looked over to me for help.

I rubbed the back of my head, making an effort to think of something. Something came to mind, I stepped in front of Lightning and placed a hand on her shoulder "What the old timer is saying that; if Serah managed to complete her Focus in time before she turns, then there's still time to save her and free her from the fal'Cie curse. She'll remain human."

"Where'd you get that idea?" Sazh asked "L'Cies are forever fal'Cie slaves…don't make your sister suffer." He said the last part to Lightning.

Lightning glared at him and roughly shoved him away "Just say it! Any l'Cie…anyone who might ever become a l'Cie should be wiped off the face of Cocoon." She started walking away before saying over her shoulder "It's people like you that started the Purge in the first place."

"If I was in her position, I would do anything to get a loved one back. Even if it means going up against all odds." I told Sazh before walking after Lightning.

As we walked up the flights of stairs, we encountered groups of Cie'th along the way and there are actually some Cie'th that can fly. Pesky bastards. After a while of fighting group after group of Cie'th, we made it to an area that looks like the central area. We stepped onto a platform that took us to the next flight of stairs.

At the top of the stairs, a pink-haired girl was found laying on the ground. She had a striking resemblance to Lightning.

"Serah!" Lightning rushed to Serah's side, who seemed to be unconscious. Lightning picked up Serah bridal style and turned to us "Time to go. We have to leave before the army- what?"

"That's a Pulse brand." Sazh pointed out "That girl's a l'Cie."

"I already told you that." Lightning replied.

"Pulse l'Cie are the enemies of Cocoon." I noticed Sazh move his hand towards one of his pistols, Lightning noticed as well.

"So they should die?" Lightning questioned.

"Listen, if she fails her Focus, you know how that'll end." Sazh told her.

"And killing her is a mercy?" A hand reached out to Lightning's face, she turned her head towards Serah.

"You came…" Serah muttered. Lightning carefully set her down.

"Serah!" I turned around to see a platform descending towards our level. On the platform was a blonde man, a silver-haired boy, a girl with orange-red hair, and Alexis. The blonde jumped down before the platform stopped and made his way to Serah's side.

"Nicholas!" Alexis ran up to me and wrapped her arms around me, her grip tightened "It's good to see you again," She muttered against my shoulder. I opened my mouth to say something touching as my twin sister released me from the hug, but I then received a hard slap to the side of the head.

I yelped in response "What the hell was that for?!" I growled, giving her a full on glare.

"That was for worrying me after you disconnected our call." She replied with a pissed off tone.

"Well what would you expect? I was caught up in a fight." Alexis huffed childishly and I ignored her for the time being.

"You can save us." Serah spoke up.

"Serah?"

"You can save us." Serah said again "Protect us all. Save…Cocoon." Slowly, Lightning's sister's eyes began to close.

"Save Cocoon? Serah? That was your Focus?" Lightning asked.

"Anything. I'll do anything." The blonde said to her "Leave it to me- you'll see. I'll protect Cocoon! I'll save everyone!"

Lightning looked up at the blonde for a moment before looking back to Serah "Somehow, I'll make things right."

"You just relax." The blonde said with a smile.

Serah smiled and said "Thank you." At that moment, a bright blue light surrounded Serah's body as she started floating upwards. Crystal started forming on her body. A small light fell from the now crystallized Serah and into the blonde's gloved hand.

"Serah! Serah!" The blonde jumped up and down frantically.

"Why is she turning to crystal?" The orange-red haired girl asked, lowering her hands that covered her mouth.

"L'Cie who fulfill their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life." The silver-haired boy answered.

"Just like the stories say." Sazh commented.

As Serah floated back down onto the ground, the blonde muttered "Serah…sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams?" Lightning shoved Sazh back and marched right up to the blonde "She's not sleeping! Serah's…she's-" She pushed the blonde back and looked back at her now crystallized sister.

"She's alive!" The blonde insisted.

Lightning sent him a glare "No."

"The legend! Remember the legend!" He said "L'Cie who fulfill their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life. It's the same with Serah! Eternal life! She's not dead!" He tried to convince us before walking over to Lightning "Serah's my bride-to-be. I promised to be hers forever! I don't care how many years I have to wait-"

Before the blonde had the chance to finish his sentence, Lightning sent a punch his way that sent the blonde falling onto the floor "It's over! Open your eyes and face reality!"

Suddenly, the entire vestige began to shake. Alexis grabbed hold of my arm and held on tightly, not risking to lose me "Nicholas!"

"I'm going to take a hazard guess and say it's the army!" I shouted over the loud noises "Seems like bringing it back to Pulse is no longer an option at this point."

"But wasn't what the Purge was for?" The red-haired girl asked.

"All they care about is getting everything from Pulse off Cocoon." Sazh said to her "Dead or alive, it's all the same."

Eventually the vestige stopped shaking. We looked towards the only door in the area to see the l'Cie mark start to fade away. The door slowly opened afterwards.

The blonde grabbed Serah's hand and gently grasped it "I'll be right back. Hold on." He said to her before walking towards the door with Sazh calling after him.

"Trench Coat. Where you going?"

"Date with the fal'Cie." He said "Got some things to talk about."

"You're gonna ask _it_ to help her? Are you out of your mind, kid? That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!" Sazh told him.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" The blonde turned back around to face him. Sazh had nothing else to say. Lightning then walked up ahead "Lightning?"

Darkness.

Pitch black darkness was all I can see as we walked through the corridor that is now to us. Until we entered an incredibly large dark room and I noticed something in front of us.

"So this is…the fal'Cie." I heard the silver-haired kid say out loud. I thought the same thing except more like 'I can hardly believe that this hunk of metal, copper, and tubes is the fal'Cie'. Heavy silence settled into the room.

"Serah's a crystal now." The blonde broke the silence "You gave her a Focus, and she did it!" He began yelling "You got what you want! Now let her go!" No response came from the fal'Cie. The blonde then went down onto his hands and knees "Please. Turn her back! I'll be your l'Cie instead!"

"Fine, you go on begging. Like this thing gives a damn what we want!" Lightning unsheathed her gunblade and began hacking away like there was nothing to lose. Her gunblade bounced off the surface, which caused her to stumble backwards.

"Lightning!" The blonde called out.

"It's this thing's fault the Purge started, and it's people who are dying. Serah told us to save Cocoon. That means this thing needs to die!"

Suddenly, parts of the floor began to glow brightly. Gears started rotating, steam was released, and a bright white light began to shine from the metal wall that covered the fal'Cie. On both sides, two large contraptions rose up from the ground. As the shell of the fal'Cie fully opened, we were blinded by pure light. I used my right forearm to shield my eyes.

The fal'Cie revealed itself, it had a claw-like right body part and a large crystal on its chest.

"The exit is blocked!" Alexis shouted, I looked over my shoulder to see a dark red barrier blocking our only exit. Damn it.

"Come on now." Sazh rushed over to Lightning, who was still poised with her gunblade "You really think you can kill a fal'Cie?" He asked her.

"I'm doing this for Serah!" Lightning got into her fighting stance. So did the blonde.

Sazh looked down towards the ground and muttered something, a small chocobo chick squeaked before going back into his afro "I'm in. As long as you don't mind an amateur." He took out his dual pistols from their holsters "I got these! Might as well use 'em!"

Alexis and I looked at each other, as if having the same idea, we nodded and unsheathed our gunblades "Count us in." I said for the both of us. I held my gunblade in a back-handed fashion.

"Nicholas," Lightning spoke up "What ever happened to leaving once you've been reunited with your sister?"

I let on a small smirk "Taking our leave isn't an option at this point. Besides, Alexis and I have some bone picking to do." Alexis smiled at my words "Now lets kick some fal'Cie ass!"

Lightning was the first to move and charge head-on towards the fal'Cie with the blonde following behind her. Sazh, Alexis, and I remained behind them and attacked from the distance. The contraptions that look like arms slammed and grinded against the ground until sparks erupted. With Alexis and Sazh firing bullets, I took the fight upfront to the contraptions and tried my best not to be turned into grinded meat. Once the right arm was down, we focused on the left. I jumped back to avoid being grinded by the left arm.

Lightning and Snow retreated away from the fal'Cie, then Alexis and I took their previous spot and began slashing away while the others attacked the left arm directly. In a matter of minutes, the arm dropped to the ground with a loud 'thud' and a crack formed amongst the surface of the crystal. Almost there! But what we didn't expect was the fal'Cie to raise the arms again, it raised its claw-like body part and swung at us. On instinct, I shoved Alexis back while I blocked the fal'Cie's claw. I grunted at the amount of pressure being applied against me.

All of a sudden, I felt a harsh tug on my scarf and I was suddenly moved away from the fal'Cie's claw. I landed on my hands and knees and let out a breath, a cough caught my attention. I looked down and my eyes connected with blue ones, it took me a minute to realize that I was on top of Lightning with her tightly gripping my scarf. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I tried to find my words, Lightning's cheeks also turned a light shade of red "Sorry about that…" I quickly said as I moved off of her. I offered her hand, she grabbed it and we returned to the others.

"What was that about?" I heard Alexis asked.

"Just shut up and fight." I huffed.

Like before, we dispatched the arms which made the fal'Cie vulnerable as it raised them up again. All five of us attacked the crystal at once and the crystal finally shattered.

A bright white light was then emitted from the fal'Cie. After the white light faded, we found ourselves floating in complete utter darkness.

"Where are we?" Lightning asked.

"What's going on?" Snow followed with his question.

I flinched as the sound of chiming bells came alive around us. We looked above us to see the true form of the fal'Cie. Its face remained stoic as it glanced down us, lesser beings. Thick green tendrils shot out from around the fal'Cie and wrapped themselves around our limbs. Everyone struggled to get loose but failed. The fal'Cie held out a hand and thinner tendrils shot out from its palm. The tendrils attached themselves to certain parts of our bodies.

I gritted my teeth as the burning pain settled on the palm of my left hand.

The tendrils disappeared and we were succumbed by unconsciousness as we fell deeper into the darkness.

Before my eyes closed, I envisioned something towering in the bright light, a city near an ocean, three people fighting, black mist enveloping everything, a crystallized figure with a lone figure standing before it.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, 10 pages just for this chapter. This chapter took forever to type, despite the fact that I'm graduating pretty soon and life is literally beating the pulp out of me. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until the next the chapter! See ya!**

**Don't forget to drop a review!**

**P.S. Sorry about any grammar errors**


	6. Bound in Darkness

**A/N: Sorry for the delay of chapter 6, I just graduated from high school yesterday- but I don't feel the affects of it…yet…anyways, here's the sixth chapter of **_**Heart of a Soldier**_**! Enjoy~!**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII belongs to Square Enix  
Claimer: I only own the OCs within this story**

***Re-edited 7/1/2014**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter VI: Bound in Darkness**

* * *

My eyebrows furrowed as I regained consciousness, I blinked repeatedly to rid the blurriness from my vision. I grunted as I rolled onto my right side and struggled to stand up, nearly lost my balance several times but I managed to catch myself. Rubbing my head, I looked around but only to find myself in a…temple? "Where…?" Turning around, I faced a throne embedded into stone and crystal. Pure white feathers floated down from above.

To my left was a grated railing that overlooked a city of some sort. I walked over towards the railing and examined everything. The sky is gloomy and grey, nothing else. The air is full of silence. Then I suddenly noticed something, this is the place that I saw in that vision! This is the place where my vision took place, I walked over to the empty throne. The blurred image of the crystallized figure from the vision flashed. I clicked my tongue in annoyance, damn Focus.

"Good, you're awake." A unknown voice said. I whirled around to see a teenager whose the same height as me. His charcoal colored hair is exactly like mine but more wild and longer, his clothes seem foreign: a pair of black shorts, a blue sari wrapped his waist, a black tanktop, brown knee-high sandals, a black sleeve on his right arm that went from his wrist to his elbow. His emerald green eyes somewhat showed relief.

"Who are you? Where am I? And where's Lightning, Alexis, and the others?" I shot him question after question.

"My name is none of your concern. Your companions that you speak of are not here, but are safe within their realm." My lips formed a frown at his answers- which left me unsatisfied and even more confused.

"What do you mean by that?" I questioned him again "And you didn't tell me where the hell I am!"

He just stared at me before walking over to the railings "You are in the Unseen Realm, Valhalla. The world for the souls of the dead and a world full of chaos."

"Souls of the dead?" I muttered, walking behind him and he nodded "Why am I in the world of the dead?"

He shook his head and replied "You are here spiritually, you would know if you had died in the hands of your enemy." I opened my mouth to say something but he beat me to the first word "Your reason for being here is nothing you should concern yourself about. You must focus at the task at hand."

* * *

**Alexis's POV**

My eyes snapped open when Snow shouted 'Serah!' I groaned as moved myself into a sitting-up position, after the blurriness disappeared from my vision, I looked around our new surroundings to see everything turned to crystal "Is this…for real?" Snow asked.

I looked to my right to see Nicholas still knocked out, I crawled over to him and patted his cheek "Hey, Nicholas, wake up." My twin brother didn't response or at the least, make a disapproving groan of grogginess. I tried again "Nicholas, wake up." I patted his cheek again.

No response.

"What's wrong?" I looked up towards Lightning from Nicholas.

"He's not waking up." Lightning kneeled beside me and placed two fingers against his neck to check his pulse, by this point, some of the others moved their gaze towards us. Lightning removed two of her fingers from Nicholas's neck "Still breathing?" I asked, she nodded. At that moment, Nicholas's hand suddenly shot up from his side and grabbed Lightning's wrist. He repeatedly blinked his eyes until they're finally open.

"I assure you that I'm not going to die in my sleep anytime soon." Nicholas released Lightning's wrist "If I was, then you would know." The pinkette helped my brother up and Nicholas nodded his thanks.

"This must be…Lake Bresha?" We heard the old timer ask "I guess we fell from up there, and the lake turned to crystal? Help me out here! I mean, did the fal'Cie do this? How in the world did we end up here?" He stepped towards Lightning.

"How should I know?" Lightning turned her back towards him.

"We're alive. How?" The red-haired girl fell to her knees and clasp her hands together.

"Serah!" Snow immediately answered like it was obvious "No one survives a fall from that high, not without a miracle. Serah saved us!"

"Serah?" Lightning shot back "Listen. It's all your fault she got-"

A Cie'th walked out from behind a wall of crystal "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" The old timer fell to the ground.

"Watch out!" Snow moved in front of the soldier and blocked the downward strike from the Cie'th. Snow fended it off and pulled back a fist, bright blue glowed around his forearm. The Cie'th went flying through the air once his fist came into contact with the creature "What did I…just do?" Snow held his branded forearm.

"You used magic!" The silver-haired boy stood up. More Cie'th came our way behind us "You used the power of a l'Cie. The fal'Cie cursed us! We're l'Cie now!"

"L'Cie huh?" Nicholas looked at me from the corner of his eye, both of us unsheathed our gunblades "First one to cut down their Cie'th wins."

I couldn't help but to make a smile "You're on!" Both Nicholas and I charged head towards the two Cie'th, he took the Cie'th on his right and I took care of the one on my left.

The Cie'th swung its rather large arm downward, I dodged by sidestepping to the left and going in for a strike. I swung my gunblade in a full arc, the Cie'th moaned as it lifted its arm swung at me once again. Ducking underneath its arm, I let out multiple slashes. My gunblade became engulfed in flames as I thrusted it through the red eye in the center of its chest. The Cie'th moaned before falling backwards. I removed my flame engulfed gunblade "Wow…" The flames were then extinguished. More moaning caught my attention as I looked up to see a staggering Cie'th moving towards me then collapse onto the one that I just defeated.

Nicholas came into my field of vision with wind whirling around his left gloved hand. Both of us holstered our weapons "I win," My twin brother's response was a huff with a glare accompanying it.

"So we really are l'Cie." Nicholas and I turned to face Snow and the others.

Lightning clicked her tongue in irritation and annoyance

"Looks like it." The old timer muttered, looking at the brand over his heart which was barely covered by his shirt.

"You too?" Snow asked the redhead.

"Yep. Right here." The girl lifted up part of her skirt to reveal the brand on her upper thigh. Nicholas looked somewhere else besides the brand.

"What about you two?" Snow turned to us. Nicholas and I looked at each other, my twin brother removed the glove on his left hand to reveal the brand on his palm. As for me, I partially lifted the bottom of my shirt to reveal the brand on the right side of my waist. The top half was visible but the bottom half is covered up by my shorts.

"L'Cie to the last." Lightning commented.

The silver-haired boy collapsed onto his knees, his body trembling "Why me?" He asked to no one in particular "I don't even know you! But you have to go and attack that thing? Just leave me alone!" His voice began to crack "It's your fault- it's your fault my-! You could've" I noticed him give me a glare before barking towards Snow "All of this is your and Serah's fault!" He immediately stood and accused the blonde.

"Watch it!" Snow took a step forward and the silver-haired boy stumbled backwards and falling onto his bottom, he scooted away from Snow until he bumped into Lightning's legs. Lightning just looked at him. He scurried away and covered his head with his hands. Snow sighed and placed a hand against his forehead "Sorry."

The redhead went over to the boy and placed her hands on his shoulders "Everything is gonna be all right. You'll see." She pulled him up onto his feet "Come on. Off we go!"

As we walked off, Snow looked at his brand "L'Cie, huh?"

"Yep. We're all playing for Team Pulse now." The old timer replied "Argh! Why me?"

"Hurray for a new part of our lives." Nicholas said, rolling his eyes and a hint of sarcasm.

We resumed our walking for a moment until the bottom of a slope. Lightning then spoke up, "Okay, if we don't know our Focus, how do we complete it?"

"I think…I saw it." The redhead said.

"Saw what?" Lightning asked.

"That is how a Focus comes down, people." The old timer came into the conversation "The fal'Cie? They don't spell it out with clear-cut instructions. All you get is a hazy glimpse." I put a hand in front of my mouth to hide a forming smile at Snow and Lightning's exact gesture and posture while looking at the old timer "Well, that's what say. You know, legends and all." He muttered.

Lightning then turned to the silver-haired boy "Did you see anything?"

He looked towards the ground then back "I uh- I just…it's all kind of foggy, but…I saw this big- I mean _towering_-"

"W-wait a minute." The old timer spoke up "Hold on now. Did we _all_ have the same dream?"

"Ragnarok." Lightning and Snow said together.

"So, we all saw the same dream. We all heard that same voice."

As they talked, Nicholas massaged his temple. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he waved dismissively; saying he's fine. I nodded and took it as that.

* * *

**Nicholas's POV**

I tuned out of the conversation about our Focus but enough to hear what they're saying. Why is my head pounding so much?

"_Remember what I said, you'll have to get used to communicating this way. You'll be feeling this way for a while."_ His voice rang in my head.

"_Like that's any help."_ I shot back _"What can you tell me about Ragnarok and this Focus that we were given?"_

"_Apologies but that's for you and your companions to figure out."_ I let out a breath.

_"Do you think it's wise tell them about what I saw? I mean, they deserve to know."_

_"I wouldn't advise it but it's your decision." _He told me _"You can however tell your sister. I can say that she's in the same boat as you- but that's all I can say. The rest is up to you and the others to figure out. That is if you wish to get them involved."_

_"Would there be consequences if I do get them involved?"_ I asked in a curious and cautious manner.

_"Can't say."_

I felt a hand on my shoulder, I stopped massaging my temple and looked to see Alexis "Everything alright?" It's rather a difficult decision but it's either remain clueless forever or get some help.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about our Focus." I said "It wasn't just Ragnarok that I saw." Alexis raised an eyebrow "I remember a city surrounded in some kind of mist or fog...then a crystallized figure with someone standing in front of it. The rest is a blur." Both of us noticed the others moving ahead, Lightning stayed behind and gave a us look "We'll catch up." The soldier nodded before following the others.

"I didn't want to say anything before but I had a similar vision as yours."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 6 is now finished! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter while I had little plot bunnies jumping around inside my head and be like "Wolfie! You must add this! And this! And this! And this!" –Sigh- Anyways, until the next time on **_**Heart of a Soldier**_**! See ya!**

**Don't forget to review~!**


	7. Branded

**A/N: Hello everyone and Happy 4th of July! Here's chapter of _Heart of a Soldier_, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII and its characters rightfully belong to Square Enix  
Claimer: _Heart of a Soldier_ and its OCs belong to me**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter VII: Branded**

* * *

As Alexis and I walked after the others, we spotted Lightning not far from us. She hopped from one part of the motorway wreckage to the next. Both of us jogged and followed her upwards, where we found the others except for the blonde who was missing from the group "We fight it! Ragnarok!" He concluded as he jumped off a ledge and rejoined us "That's the reason we're l'Cie. To stop it- to keep Cocoon safe!"

"Yeah, why don't you give us one reason to believe that? One reason." Sazh told him.

"Serah." The blonde replied immediately.

"She said to protect Cocoon, and then she turned to crystal. That's the proof right there. She's completed her Focus! That means our is to save Cocoon." The blonde tried to convince us, he then turned to Lightning but she turned her back towards him "Serah's fal'Cie was the same as ours. Our Focus has to got to be the same. We were chosen to be guardians, to defeat Ragnarok! It makes sense!"

"The hell it does! You're grasping at straws, son!" Sazh turned around "Pulse fal'Cie are Cocoon's enemies. We just got recruited by one of them. If I were a betting man…I'd put us on the other side."

"So Serah's an enemy too?" The blonde questioned him "Well I don't buy it!" He then walked up to Lightning and grasped his left forearm "We have the power to save Cocoon. If we work together and carry out our Focus-"

In a blink of an eye, Lightning unsheathed her gunblade and held it up against his neck. Alexis elbowed me as we watched and elbowed her back harder "Our Focus? The fal'Cie took Serah from us, and you want to help it?" the blonde didn't say anything "Whose side are you on?"

"Freeze!" A commanding voice shouted. A group of PSICOM soldiers surrounded us with their guns trained on us, front and behind "Place your hands behind your heads!" The captain of the group ordered. Damn, we're surrounded "Nicholas and Alexis Cross, put your hands where I can see them, front and center."

I looked at Alexis and nodded for us comply. Both of us put our hands up by our heads and turned around to face the leader of the squadron. Gun barrels were placed at the back of our heads "Move it," Their weapons clicked. We walked through the group and stood front and center, as instructed.

"Nicholas and Alexis Cross, quite a coincidence to see you here. Makes my job easier." The captain said "You two are wanted for murder and disobeying Sanctum orders. Got a large bounty on your heads."

"Did _Colonel Lieutenant_ Derek assign you to look for us?" I questioned him. The Captain didn't say anything "Hey-!" I was cut off short when the captain's fist made an impact against my stomach, I wheezed as he placed the barrel of his gun against my head and ready to pull the trigger.

"You wouldn't dare!" Alexis snapped but was threatened by a gun to the face. She glared at the captain.

"Handcuff these two and confiscate their weapons while you're at it. Report to Colonel Lieutenant." The soldiers behind us moved to the front and put our hands into the handcuffs, they then unstrapped our gunblades from our waists and tossed them to another soldier "I would rather kill you two than hand you over to Colonel Lieutenant. Saves us the time."

"Then why don't you." I asked. The Captain hesitated to find an answer but went silent instead. We were then forced to move forward "Not enough backbone." I scoffed.

"You fall off the Purge train?" The Captain walked casually over to Lightning.

"Maybe." Lightning placed her hands on the back of her head.

"Are you talking back to me? Huh?" The Captain shoved the barrel of the gun in front of Lightning's face.

I looked over to Alexis and nodded, she did the same. Both of us stopped and waited, knowing Lightning, hell is about to break loose. "Nice gun." There was line of pained grunts followed by the yells from the other PSICOM soldiers. Making that our queue, Alexis and I turned around, I swept one of the soldiers off his feet and made a swift kick to his head, thus breaking his neck. Alexis aimed a roundhouse kick to the other soldier's head. The rest of the group took out their weapons and joined the fray against the PSICOM soldiers.

"The Captain has the key!" I told Alexis and we maneuvered our way through the fight and I managed to get to the Captain's body but I was stopped by a barrage of bullets and one caught my cheek. It stung for a moment. I charged towards the soldier whilst dodging a barrage of bullets, once I was close enough, I jumped over him. Landing facing his back, I kicked him forward and a blade of a gunblade penetrated his front and out of his back.

The soldier was moved off the blade and dropped onto the ground. I looked up from the body to see that it was Lightning. The others regrouped, Lightning knelt down beside the dead Captain and searched the body for the key. She held out a simple key card and tossed it over to me and I caught it.

With PSICOM soldiers finished, the group examined a soldier while Alexis and I removed our cuffs and retrieved our gunblades from a dead PSICOM soldier.

"I thought they'd be tougher than that." Sazh commented "These guys are PSICOM, yeah? Suppose to be cream-of-the-crop."

"Yeah, but PSICOM's an anti-Pulse task force." The blonde explained "Haven't fought a war in centuries. Bunch of rookie troops swinging around overpriced toys."

"So, from what you're telling me, it sounds like a regular old soldier…has got more training than special forces."

"Nothing for us l'Cie to be afraid of." The blonde said. I shook my head and Alexis let out a chuckle.

"Cut the crap." Lightning said "Their grunts might be green, but PSICOM's elites are cold-blooded beasts. They hit the field and it's game over."

"I agree with that," I called over my shoulder as Alexis worked on healing my cheek that the bullet from earlier made a cut on "The elites will stop at nothing to kill their acquired target. Enemy or not. There's no stopping them until one of you are on the ground."

"Oh-oh! Then let's run away!" The redhead pointed towards a random direction and ran off "Ciao!"

"Hey, wait!" Sazh called after her before sighing, a small yellow chocobo chick flew out of his afro and landed in his hand "What's a man to do?" Sazh went on ahead with the blonde and silver-haired kid.

Alexis patted my cheek, indicating that she finished "All healed but it left a decent scar. It's not noticeable unless you squint." I ran my fingertips over the newly formed 'scar'.

"That's fine. As long as I don't end up having a collection." I sighed.

"Oh, yeah, because woman find guys who have scars _really attractive_." Alexis teased, indicating the last person who remained behind "You never know." She winked, why must Alexis do this to me? My face started to blush and my twin sister giggled at the sight.

"Come on you two," Lightning said as she approached us.

I quickly adjusted my scarf so that it hides my flaring cheeks "R-right." I nodded and we walked after the others. At the bottom of the slope, there was a group of Cie'th stumbling around. After fighting the group of Cie'th, we continued deeper into the crystallized Lake Bresha.

As we walked into a large clearing, I started to hear croaking. I stopped walking and glanced around "Does anybody else hear croaking? Or it is just me?"

Everybody stopped "I hear it too." Sazh said.

"We need to keep moving." Lightning instructed and we did so but as a precaution, I let my hand hover over the hilt of my gunblade. The croaking got louder after each passing step we took. A group of Breshan Bass jumped out of their hiding spots and surrounded us. We took out our weapons and prepared ourselves.

A Breshan Bass jumped towards with its mouth wide open and ready to chomp on my face. Wind formed around my left hand and with a downward quick gesture, the Breshan Bass was crushed against the crystallized ground. Croaking was heard to my right, I unsheathed my gunblade and switched it to its gun form. I pulled the trigger and bullets tore through the Breshan Bass.

We put away our weapons and continued on our path.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 7 is done! I know this chapter seems short but I'm going by the subchapters within the game- that means, more things to add between characters *cough* *cough* Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, until the next time I update! See ya~!**

**Don't forget to drop a review!**


	8. A Vision Shared

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the 8th chapter of _Heart of a Soldier_! Geez, the more chapters I write ahead of time, the longer I'm on writer's block. Anyways, enjoy the new chapter~!**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII and its characters rightfully belong to Square Enix  
Claimer: OCs belong to me**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter 8: A Vision Shared**

* * *

"Weird, isn't it?" The blonde asked out loud as we through a crystallized tunnel "Of all the messed up ways to meet…might as well make introductions. I'm Snow- Snow Villiers." Snow introduced himself first "Short stuff?"

"Hope. Hope Estheim."

"What about her?" The girl indicated the silent soldier. Lightning remained silent.

"Bodhum Security Regiment. She goes by 'Lightning'. Last name's Farron. First? Anybody's guess." Snow replied.

"Vanille."

"Sazh Katzroy. Good to meet you."

"Alexis Cross and this is my twin brother, Nicholas Cross."

Sazh sighed "It's not right. Why'd kids have to get dragged into this?" He asked.

"I'll keep the kids out of trouble." Snow said, taking the responsibility onto himself.

I scoffed as Alexis and I walked by him and Sazh "Good luck with that, Snow." Alexis told him with a bright smile "It's going to be a challenge to keep us kids out of trouble." As she said that, Alexis turned me around and pulled on my cheeks.

Sazh can only shake his head with little humor "Trying to take on the Pulse fal'Ce, that was our first mistake. Should have left it to the Sanctum." From the distance, Vanille called out to us as she up and down, waving her hands in the air "Why not? I mean, we've counted on the Sanctum's fal'Cie for food, water…everything we've needed since the time we were born."

Alexis giggled as she took advantage in pulling my cheeks, I attempted to slap her hands away but ended up slapping my cheeks instead. I winced at the now stinging sensation on both sides of my face.

"But you still helped us do it." Snow said "Why's that? Gotta be something."

"There might've been." Sazh replied "Not so sure anymore."

We moved further into the crystallized Lake Bresha and we ran into some Pantherons who were scouting the area ahead of the PSICOM soldiers- if any were nearby. Of course, there was a group of PSICOM Enforcers.

After taking care of those Enforcers, we hopped through the huge chains that are embedded into the crystal and onto a heavily damaged Purge train. I looked above us to see the crystallized wave, I have to admit it's quite beautiful. I then felt a sharp tug on the scarf and my breath hitched for a moment as it tightened around my neck before loosening. Alexis moved next to me with the ends of the scarf in her hands. Pointing a towards Lightning, I noticed that I almost bumped into her. Whoops.

We followed her line of sight to see a large patch of crystal, "Is that…?" Alexis peered over my shoulder.

"Serah!" Snow shouted as he dashed towards his crystallized bride-to-be and the rest of us followed after him. "Serah!" He knelt down before her and grasped her hand "I'll get you out of there!" Standing back up and grabbing a nearby sharp metal and started the base of the crystal.

""I'll help you!" Vanille joined in with a sharp metal rod of her own and Snow said his thanks. Eventually, Sazh started helping as well. Alexis and I stood at a distance, watching them.

"Do you think Derek sent out a party to look for us?" Alexis asked "That PSICOM squad just can't be the only one."

I can only shrug my shoulders "I highly doubt it." Alexis raised an eyebrow "Derek only works under Sanctum orders, which means the Purge comes first. Looking for traitors, like us, is the least of the government's worries."

An acknowledged nod "Hopefully. But what if we're Derek's number one priority?"

"That's his problem." I said. Lightning then walked past us "Lightning?" She didn't say anything.

"Lightning?" Snow noticed her walking away "You're just gonna leave her?" He asked.

"PSICOM will be here soon." The ex-soldier replied "If they find us, we're all dead. You think Serah would want that? You think you know how she feels?" She started off again.

"If I leave her, then I'll never know." Snow said and Lightning stopped in her tracks "We'll be fine. I can handle anything they throw at us. No one will die. I'll protect Serah. And Cocoon!"

The next thing we knew was Lightning marching right up to Snow and punching him square in the face, which knocked him down onto the ground. Both Alexis and I flinched "Does she look protected to you?"

Snow got back up "I can save her!" Another punch and down he went.

"What can you possibly do?" Lightning clenched her fist as Snow was about to get up.

"Whatever it takes!" Lightning relaxed and lowered her fist before looking away.

Sazh sighed "You two are hopeless." He walked past Alexis and I, he then said "You just can't admit it. You want to stay as much as he does."

A whirring sound reached my ears, my brows furrowed together. Giving in to my curiosity, I turned around but only to be blinded by a very bright search light. The moved away and my eyes widen at the sight of the scorpion-like war machine "Sazh! Watch it!"

Looking up as the light shined on him, Sazh instantly reacted and started shouting "No…No! No, no, no, not now!"

Alexis and I unsheathed our gunblades and stood by Sazh, Lightning was the first to notice before dashing towards us with her gunblade in hand with the others then followed close behind.

"So that's a Manasvin Warmech." Alexis said as the machine landed and made the ground shook "Considering its condition, it must've gotten into a pretty bad brawl." Parts of the warmech's armor was already destroyed and left it vulnerable in some parts. Even its two pincers are completely destroyed. Spares us from being sawed into pieces.

Lasers were shot out from the tip of the warmech's tail. Dodging the lasers, everyone let loose a barrage of magic upon our enemy. Snow took the brunt of the attacks that was delivered by the Manasvin Warmech while the rest of us attacked. Slowly, pieces of the warmech's armor flew off its body. This continued for a bit before the Manasvin Warmech took its attention off of Snow and towards everyone else.

The Manasvin Warmech swung its tail wildly behind it at the crystal wall. Large chunks of crystal were thrown at us, we halted our assault of attacks and dodged the crystals.

Trying my best not to get pierced or smashed, I counter the crystals with a fairly amount of wind and send them flying towards the Manasvin Warmech, which actually worked. The rain of crystals came to a halt and I released a breath of relief. Thank god. We continued our onslaught of attacks until the Manasvin Warmech couldn't fight anymore.

The fight left me a bit fatigued, in other words, I'm fine.

"You're leaving?" I turned around to see Snow standing in front of Lightning, she didn't say a word and Sazh spoke up.

"We want to help Serah too." He said before gesturing to Serah "But without tools…we could be digging for days. The army's on our trail. For now, we've got to keep moving. For now."

"So I just abandon her, and save myself?" Snow concluded.

"What about your Focus?" Lightning questioned the blonde and he looked at her "What happened to banding together and saving the world? Isn't that what you promised? Now you want to forget it all and die right here?" Snow didn't respond "Snow? You're nothing but talk."

Snow gritted his teeth and clenched his fists "Lightning!" She stopped "I'll do whatever it takes. I'll finish this Focus…_and_ keep Serah safe. That's my promise."

"Great job so far." Was Lightning's response as she walked away.

Sazh stopped by Snow with a smile, "Stay out of trouble." Snow told the old-timer. Sazh chuckled and patted the blonde on the shoulder as he walked on. Alexis shook me by the shoulder and I waved her off, she smiled before walking beside me "Same thing goes for you two alright? Keep an eye on the group and Lightning."

"Isn't that a bit much to be putting on our shoulders, Snow?" I asked and Snow chuckled.

"You know what I mean, now get going before you get left behind." The both of us nodded while smiling and ran off.

Eventually, we caught up with Sazh and Lightning, with Vanille and Hope following.

* * *

**Elsewhere...**

Derek banged his fists on his desk, the PSICOM soldier in front of him jumped at the sudden action. Not long ago, PSICOM drew out their soldiers from the Hanging Edge after the Vestige was destroyed. The aftermath of the Purge isn't the one making Derek frustrated, but it was the fact that a group of dead soldiers were found within the crystallized Lake Bresha.

"Sir, do you have any orders?" The PSICOM soldier asked.

Remaining silent, Derek glanced down at the map on his desk. He lifted fists from the map and gazed over the small circled area of the map, he narrowed his eyes _'Those two are still alive and they need to be found!'_ Tracing his index finger from the sighting of the corpses to the ruins of Lake Bresha. The Gates of Antiquity. However, it isn't his place to give out orders fully based on his judgment.

"No orders. Dismissed" The PSICOM soldier saluted dutifully before being dismissed.

Just as Derek let out a deep breath, Colonel Redd entered his office "Colonel Lieutenant Cross," He said.

"Colonel Redd," Derek acknowledged "Is there something you need?"

Redd nodded, "Correct, I wish to discuss the fate of the traitors that are on the loose."

Derek looked at him square in the eye, questioning why the Colonel is concerned "Feel free, I already had a mouthful lecture from my CO about Nicholas and Alexis. He wants them to be found and dead."

"I fully agree with his decision, Colonel Lieutenant. Their actions cannot be seen past as it can embarrass PSICOM. One rookie and his sister became murders of our men."

Derek couldn't help to sigh heavily "True. And I couldn't help but to guess that the Primach would be happy to hear that the 'soldier' he hand-picked disobeyed orders on the first day."

"Pardon me if I ask but, are you willing to hunt down your siblings? To give them the justice that they deserve?"

'Hunt down your siblings'? When said in that manner, it sounds like hunting simple-minded beasts. Derek shifted his gaze else where "I would be happy to oblige but unfortunately, I'm being called back to Eden. As a direct order from me, I'm putting their execution in your hands. Kill them as you see fit. If they're traveling with a group, kill them too."

Colonel Redd saluted "Of course, sir."

Derek nodded "Now if you'll excuse me, I have pressing matters to attend to in Eden."

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**A/N: There goes chapter 8! Seems like Colonel Redd has been assigned to l'Cie hunting and penalty is death. How will our group of l'Cie handle this? Guess you can only find out in future chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter more than I did while typing it, and so, until the next time! See ya~!**

**Don't forget to drop a review!**


	9. Partings and Promises

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back to _Heart of a Soldier_! Thank you to those who faved/alerted/etc. Now enjoy the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII rightfully belongs to Square Enix  
Claimer: Heart of a Soldier and its OCs belong to me**

* * *

**Heart of a Soldier**

**Chapter IX: Partings and Promises**

* * *

A Breshan Bass croaked as I sent it flying over the edge with a burst of wind from my left hand. I looked over the edge to see the Breshan Bass but it was nowhere to be seen "Talk about flying." I muttered. The others began moving onwards and I quickly joined them. I tightened my gloves since I didn't use my gunblade for the recent fight.

"Practicing your magic, Nicholas?" Alexis asked as she strolled behind me.

I shrugged my shoulders as a response "Just getting the feel of it. Still strange though."

Walking down a steep crystal slope, a pack of Pantherons noticed us and growled before charging directly towards us. We unsheathed our weapons and the Pantherons dispersed towards their chosen target.

A Pantheron scurried close to the ground and charged at me with its jaw wide open and ready to chomp down. I sidestepped and sent a short burst of wind, hopping it would fly off the edge but the Pantheron skidded across the crystallized ground and stopped at the edge. It growled. The Pantheron leveled its body with the ground, it charged once again and swung its paw at me.

Swiftly, I made a downward slash on the Pantheron's left flank. Its now limp body dropped onto the ground.

"Nicholas! Get down!" Letting out a surprised yelp, I was shoved forward onto my stomach. Lifting my head, a Pantheron jumped over and skidded around to face me and whoever was on my back. Switching my gunblade into its gun form, I shot a bullet or two into its body, one went into the front right leg and the other entered the skull. The Pantheron dropped dead right after.

A breath of relief was released from my mouth, I looked over my shoulder to see Alexis, who was making a sheepish smile. I sent her a full on glare "What the hell?"

"I told you to get down didn't I?" She shot back as she removed herself from my back.

"Yeah, well, shoving me to the ground and sitting on my back isn't what I call 'get down'." I sheathed my gunblade. Alexis moved ahead of me and I immediately gave her a quick flick to the back of the head, making her yelp. She rubbed the back of her head, I snickered.

Just ahead of us, there was a tube that we had to cross, just to get to the other side of the chasm. A shiver went through my spine as I looked down, I'm not afraid of heights or anything but geez! That's one long way to fall. Without making a hassle, Lightning practically jogged across the tube and waited for us on the other side "Well then," Alexis muttered. Vanille went next and jogged across the tube as well.

Getting the tube over with, I went next and moved quickly without looking down. Then it was Sazh who said "Okay, do not shake the slippery tube! We cool on this? Don not shake the slippery tube!" Sazh made it to the other side safely and so did Hope.

Looking back to the other side, I hid my growing smirk behind my hand as Alexis had difficulty crossing "It's only scary if you look down!" Vanille called cheerfully "You should close your eyes!"

"Not helping Vanille!" She shouted back, Vanille giggled. Eventually, she made back onto solid ground and made a sigh of relief. But a group of Breshan Bass jumped us from the edge.

It wasn't long for us to finish them off and continue walking.

"Still couldn't talk to him?" I heard Vanille ask Hope "You'll never get past this if you don't say something."

"Words won't change anything." Hope said lowly "But next time we meet, he'll learn exactly how I feel."

"But what about…?" Vanille trailed off in her sentence.

"She had the chance to save her…but she didn't…I don't know…"

"Hey, Alexis," I muttered "Do you know who-" Stopping mid-sentence, Alexis wasn't next to me but instead, she was examining an aircraft. Of course. I walked over to her "Rude to leave people who are talking to you."

Alexis smiled "Sorry, but machinery are just too irresistible, in my case that is." I rolled my eyes.

Looking over to the motorway that was incased in the crystal, a large wall is the only thing preventing us from moving forward "I wonder…"

Footsteps were heard walking towards us "Find anything useful?" Lightning asked.

I tilted my head to the gun turret of the aircraft "That gun turret might be operational. If it is, then we can use it to shatter the crystal wall. Let me see…" I went to see if I can hotwire the aircraft but Lightning held an arm out in front of me, I raised an eyebrow at this. Unsheathing her gunblade, Lightning jumped onto the aircraft and swung at it. The gun turret fired bullets, and true to my words, the crystal wall shattered but Breshan Bass and Bloodfang Bass jumped out of their hiding spots and onto the walkway "You've got to be kidding me." I stared dumbfounded at the creatures.

Lightning placed her hand on my shoulder "Nice thinking." I nodded.

Snapping my fingers in front of my twin sister's face, she was brought out of her daydream of machinery "C'mon, time to clean some guts." Alexis noticed the Bass on the walkway. Both of us unsheathed our gunblades and ran into the group of Bass, along with the others. The Bass noticed the both of us and croaked.

"Alexis! Nicholas! Watch your backs!" Vanille called out to us before a three fireballs flew by us and burnt two Breshan Bass while the third one missed. Alexis gave her a thumbs up and the redhead smiled, she returned to casting magic spells.

A Breshan Bass whipped its tail at me face, I grabbed the tail before it came into contact with my face. The Bass croaked and squirmed in attempt to escape my grasp but I stabbed my gunblade through its body like it was butter.

Taking the blade out of the body, a bullet whizzed past my head and got a Bloodfang Bass in the head, I looked behind me to see the corpse then back forward to see that it was Lightning "It was necessary, I know." A smirk appeared on Lightning's lips for a moment before disappearing.

Croaking was heard behind me, I whirled around to see two Bloodfang Bass. I groaned as both of them hopped towards and swung their tails at me from both left and right. I jumped back to avoid being them, the one on the right went for the attack.

Ducking under its tail, I changed my gunblade into its gun form and shot a round of bullets into its body. Jumping over the now dead bass, the other one came at me with jaws wide open. Electricity sparked around my left hand, flaking the Bloodfang Bass on its right, the bass was electrocuted and crashed to the ground with smoke rising from its body.

We holstered our weapons and moved on. Sazh ran up ahead for any upcoming enemies, although, we noticed him hiding behind a large crystal. Noticing what he was looking at, I folded my arms over my chest "Alpha Behemoth, thought I wouldn't get a chance to see one not bounded in a cage."

"You mean you've seen one of these before?!" Sazh asked and rather surprised.

I nodded "PSICOM takes field trips, y'know."

The Alpha Behemoth noticed us and roared rather loudly as it stood up on its hind legs. Alexis and I unsheathed our gunblades and made a dash towards the behemoth with Lightning behind us, while the others spread out and casted magic spells.

However, the fight with the Alpha Behemoth turned out differently than I thought. For the duration of the fight, the bioweapon had its attention locked on me. I jumped back as the behemoth swiped at me but it continued to advance which left me stumbling backwards.

A large fireball was casted and flew by between me and the behemoth. The bioweapon turned to whoever casted the spell, which was Vanille. I roared until a fireball collided against the front of its face, the bioweapon pawed at its face. As it tried to restore its vision, I got a chance to unsheathe my gunblade and slashed at the behemoth's back legs. In an attempt to at least injure someone, the Alpha Behemoth charged blindly.

Vanille and Hope moved out of the way and the Alpha Behemoth crashed into the wall. It shook its head and turned around, more Fire spells were casted and collided with the bioweapon. It merely shook its body and charged at me with its horn aligned with the ground. This is going to hurt like hell. Adjusting my hold on my gunblade, the bioweapon's jaw locked around my left thigh, I hissed in pain and stabbed my gunblade downward into its head. I looked over my shoulder to see us approaching the cliff. Thunder coursed through my palm, through the gunblade, and then into the bioweapon's head. The Alpha Behemoth let go of my thigh and dropped dead.

Releasing a grunt and taking the gunblade out of the bioweapon's head. Holstering my gunblade, I headed towards the others with a limp in my step "Nicholas!" Alexis walked over to me "Nice plan in almost killing yourself." She said as I placed myself on the ground and Vanille came over to examine my wound.

"That bioweapon sunk its jaw real deep into the muscle." Vanille told me "But the good thing is that the bone isn't damaged in any way." She placed her hands on my thigh "It won't take long to heal." The warmth of the healing spell covered my entire thigh, and just like what Vanille said, my thigh was fully healed- save for the new but yet, unwanted scars.

"If you're all healed, then lets keep moving." Lightning said. I nodded and pushed myself up from the ground and we moved on.

Noticing the sound of velocycles and airships in the distance, Alexis and I looked at each other. PSICOM has started their search. We knelt down and approached the edge to see a large cruiser parked in the large clearing below us, few velocycles passed by in every direction.

"They must be hunting down Purge survivors." Sazh stated.

"I hope everyone made it out okay." Vanille said.

"So do I." The old timer agreed "But nowhere is safe for them now." He slammed his palm against the ground "Damn it! Just 'cause they shared a neighborhood with a fal'Cie…they get treated like Pulse-tainted rats."

"People really hate Pulse, don't they?" Vanille questioned.

"Not _hate_." Sazh moved to his knees and Vanille looked at him "More like _fear_. Tens of millions of people…all scared of Pulse boogeymen." He looked down at his brand "They'd be shaking in their beds every night if they knew…that l'Cie like us were around."

"But…they purged that entire town!" Vanille replied.

"It's crazy, I know." Sazh told her "But the Sanctum fal'Cie did nothing to stop it. Up until now, Eden's always stepped in…to correct their errors in judgment. Guess humans aren't worth the effort. Figure they'll let us just kill each other off."

"L'Cie are not human." Hope said, standing up.

"_L'Cie may be seen as monsters but they're still human, inside and out."_ The voice said _"They still have their heart, spirit, and feelings. Nothing changes."_ I noticed Alexis resisting the urge to stand up.

"Listen, you, that's enough!" Vanille stood up and grabbed his wrist. His brand was covered by the yellow bandana around his wrist. She let go of his wrist before taking a few steps away from the group "We're still alive. That's something."

After Vanille said that, the ground began to shake "Something's coming and close." Alexis said.

"There!" Lightning pointed above us. We looked up to see at least four or five gunships zoom past our position and head towards the large cruiser then separated into two groups "They're sealing off the area. They're trying to trap the stragglers." Lightning said and turned to us "We've got to get moving before we're caught in the net."

We nodded and moved forward in a jog.

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**A/N: So, I had this chapter done ahead of time and I think I did a decent job on it ("I think" is the keyword) Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and if you have any questions, PM me or include it in your review. I pretty much have the entire story planned out from the beginning 'til the end. So, until the next time on _Heart of a Soldier_! See ya~!**

**Don't forget to drop a review!**


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